Federal Robbery Sentences in the Western District of Virginia, FY2016–2025
In the Western District of Virginia, 42 people were sentenced for robbery offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. All 42 received a prison term, and the median was 70 months. The median for robbery across all 94 federal districts was 90 months.
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In brief: In the Western District of Virginia, 42 people were sentenced for robbery offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. All 42 received a prison term, and the median was 70 months. The median for robbery across all 94 federal districts was 90 months.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 42 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Acquittals and dismissals come from a second source, the Federal Judicial Center's records of 753,808 federal defendants whose cases ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. It is part of the Federal Prosecution Analysis series, which builds on Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System. How the numbers were built: How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built.
How Long Were Robbery Prison Terms in This District?
The median prison term for robbery in the Western District of Virginia was 70 months, or 5.8 years. A quarter of the people sentenced received 124.5 months or more, and a quarter received 36.2 months or less.
Across all 94 federal districts, 14,845 people were sentenced for robbery, and the median prison term was 90 months. The district's robbery median was lower than that national figure. It was higher than the 60-month median for all offenses in the district.
These are terms imposed by the court, not time served. The data also counts only people who were convicted and sentenced, so acquittals and dismissals are not included.
Where Sentences Fell Against the Guideline Range
The federal sentencing guidelines give each case a recommended range. For all 42 robbery cases, the Commission recorded where the sentence fell against that range.
Only 24% (10 people) were sentenced within the range. Another 43% (18 people) were sentenced below the range at the government's request, and 21% (9 people) were sentenced below it without a government request. Above the range, there were 5 people, or 12%.
For all offenses in the district, 40% of sentences were within the range. For all districts' robbery cases, the figure was also 40%. Robbery sentences in this district were therefore within the range less often than either comparison group.
Guilty Pleas, Trials, and Mandatory Minimums
Of the 42 people, 40 (95%) pleaded guilty, and 2 were convicted after a trial. Among the guilty pleas, 98% had a written plea agreement and 3% were straight pleas with no agreement.
The median prison term after a guilty plea was 67 months. After a trial it was 320 months, but that figure rests on only 2 people, so it does not show a pattern.
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 13 of the 42 people, or 31%.
What the Commission Counts as Robbery
The offense type "Robbery" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's own category. It is assigned from the primary guideline in each case.
In this district, 40 of the cases used §2B3.1 (Robbery) as the primary guideline. The other 2 used §2X3.1 (Accessory After the Fact).
Robbery cases were 2% of the 2,529 people sentenced in the district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025.
Year-by-Year Counts Are Small
From fiscal year 2016 to 2019, 11 people were sentenced for robbery. From fiscal year 2020 to 2025, there were 31. The fiscal year runs from October 1 to September 30.
Single-year counts ranged from 1 to 8 people, and the table lists only years with data. Medians based on so few people change a great deal with one case, so the yearly figures are not a trend.
The 2020 median of 142.5 months and the 2025 median of 30 months each come from 6 and 5 people.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 5 | 50 months | 4 of 5 |
| 2017 | 5 | 66 months | 5 of 5 |
| 2018 | 1 | 72 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2020 | 6 | 142.5 months | 5 of 6 |
| 2022 | 5 | 77 months | 5 of 5 |
| 2023 | 8 | 51 months | 8 of 8 |
| 2024 | 7 | 92 months | 7 of 7 |
| 2025 | 5 | 30 months | 5 of 5 |
Supervision, Fines, and Restitution
All 42 people were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 14 people (33%), and restitution for 23 (55%).
In criminal history, 33% were in the lowest category, category I, and 19% were in the highest, category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
What These Records Cannot Show
The records do not show the facts of any case or why a judge chose a particular sentence. They do not include people who were acquitted or whose cases were dismissed.
With 42 people in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, small differences between this district and the national figures should be read with caution.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Western District of Virginia (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Virginia West") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Robbery" (42). Offense types are the Commission's OFFGUIDE categories.
Federal fiscal years run from October 1 to September 30. No person, judge, or lawyer is identified in any of these records.
What to Keep in Mind
No parole in federal prison; credit for good conduct. Federal prison has no parole for crimes committed on or after November 1, 1987. A federal prisoner can earn up to 54 days of good conduct credit for each year of the sentence the judge imposed, which is about 15%. Some federal prisoners can also earn First Step Act time credits, but many offenses make a person ineligible. The numbers in this post are the sentences judges imposed, not the time people actually served.
Federal supervised release. Most federal prison sentences are followed by a term of supervised release that the judge sets as part of the sentence. A person who violates it can be sent back to prison. A court-martial cannot sentence anyone to supervision after release. Military parole and mandatory supervised release are decided later by a board, not by the judge at trial.
Who decides the sentence, and under what rules. Federal judges sentence every federal case. They must calculate the Sentencing Guidelines range, which is advisory, and must impose any mandatory minimum the statute requires unless an exception applies. In courts-martial, the accused could choose sentencing by members until the rules changed. For cases in which every guilty finding is for an offense committed after December 27, 2023, a military judge sentences alone, within sentencing parameters. Courts-martial tried in 2024 and later include both old-rule and new-rule cases, and the data cannot tell them apart.
Time periods. Federal numbers are by federal fiscal year (October 1 to September 30), based on the sentencing date. The military numbers are by trial date. Neither source has the date of the offense, so a change in law shows up in either data set gradually.
How life sentences and "time served" are counted. In the federal numbers, a life sentence is counted as 470 months, and any other sentence longer than 470 months is counted as just under 470 months. A sentence of "time served" is counted as one day (0.03 months). Averages are affected by these rules; medians much less.
Mandatory minimum sentences. Many federal statutes on drugs, images of child exploitation, child sex abuse, and firearms carry mandatory minimum prison terms. The UCMJ has mandatory minimums only for a few offenses (a dishonorable discharge or dismissal for rape and sexual assault, and life for premeditated murder). Federal sentences for these offenses are partly set by Congress, not by the judge.
Related Analysis
- Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System (the background article)
- Federal Prosecution Analysis (all federal posts)
- How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built (sources and method)
- Federal Sentences in the Western District of Virginia, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Western District of Virginia, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Western District of Virginia, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Western District of Virginia, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Western District of Virginia, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles (source)
- Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants) (source)
About the author. Jocelyn C. Stewart is a retired Army JAG with more than 24 years of trying courts-martial and more than 200 jury trials. She hosts Where All The Bodies Are Buried and runs the Law Office of Jocelyn C. Stewart. This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.