Federal Robbery Sentences in the Western District of Washington, FY2016–2025
All 24 people sentenced for robbery in the Western District of Washington in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a prison term. The median was 72 months (6 years), which is lower than the national median of 90 months. Only 4 (17%) were sentenced within the guideline range.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Western District of Washington, FY2 › Robbery: Western District of Washington
In brief: All 24 people sentenced for robbery in the Western District of Washington in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a prison term. The median was 72 months (6 years), which is lower than the national median of 90 months. Only 4 (17%) were sentenced within the guideline range.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 24 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.
Every Robbery Sentence Included Prison
The Sentencing Commission's "Robbery" offense type has 24 people in this district. 24 of 24 (100%) received a prison term, and none received probation only.
The median prison term was 72 months (6 years). A quarter received 129.8 months or more, and a quarter received 49 months or less. These are terms imposed, not time served.
Lower Median Than the National Figure
Nationally, 14,845 people fall in this offense type. 99% went to prison, and the median was 90 months. Robbery cases here were less than 1% of the 3,992 people sentenced in the district, and the median for every offense type in the district together was 30 months. Compared with that overall median, robbery sentences were higher here.
Few Sentences Were Within the Guideline Range
4 people (17%) were within the range. 11 (46%) were below it at the government's request, and 6 (25%) were below it without a request. 3 (13%) were above it.
Nationally, 40% were within the range. For all offenses in this district, the share is 35%. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 7 of the 24 people (29%).
Guilty Pleas and Trials
21 people (88%) pleaded guilty, and 3 were convicted after a trial. Nationally, guilty pleas were 95%, and for all offenses in the district they were 97%. Every plea had a written plea agreement. A plea agreement is a written deal with the government, often including a recommendation on the sentence.
The median prison term was 63 months after a plea and 150 months after a trial. The trial figure covers 3 people. The records do not show how the charges compared between the plea and trial groups, so the difference should not be read as a trial penalty.
One Guideline
All 24 people were sentenced under §2B3.1 (Robbery). The offense type is the Commission's own category, and here it matches the guideline name.
Supervised Release, Restitution, and Prior Record
23 people (96%) were ordered to serve supervised release, with a median term of 36 months. No fines were ordered (0). Restitution was ordered for 19 (79%).
38% were in the lowest criminal history category, and 8% were in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Yearly Counts and Limits
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 17 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 7. Each year has from 1 to 6 people, and years with no row had no robbery sentences in the data. Counts this small do not show a trend.
This district contains Bremerton, Washington and Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington. Service members tried by court-martial are tried in military courts, which are separate from these federal cases. The Commission's data also omits anyone who was acquitted or whose case was dismissed, so it describes only convictions.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 3 | 127 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2017 | 3 | 60 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2018 | 5 | 60 months | 5 of 5 |
| 2019 | 6 | 74.5 months | 5 of 6 |
| 2020 | 1 | 150 months | 0 of 1 |
| 2021 | 1 | 42 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2022 | 2 | 98 months | 1 of 2 |
| 2023 | 1 | 46 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2025 | 2 | 81 months | 2 of 2 |
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Western District of Washington (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Washington West") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Robbery" (24). 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 Washington, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Western District of Washington, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Other Offense Sentences in the Western District of Washington, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Western District of Washington, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Western District of Washington, 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.