How long is mandatory minimum for gun crime

| by Max Soni

Thanks for visiting Spodek Law Group – a second-generation law firm managed by Todd Spodek. We have over 40 years of combined experience handling the federal cases that other attorneys won’t touch. You’ve probably heard about some of our work – Todd represented Anna Delvey in the case that became a Netflix series, we handled the Ghislaine Maxwell juror misconduct matter, and we’ve defended clients in cases ranging from securities fraud to stalking allegations involving Alec Baldwin. If you’re facing federal gun charges, you need to understand what mandatory minimum means for your future, and why the numbers are worse than you think.

Federal mandatory minimums for gun crimes start at 5 years and go all the way to life. The sentence depends on what you did with the gun, whether someone got hurt, what kind of weapon it was, and your criminal history. Most people don’t realize these sentences stack – meaning they run back-to-back with your other charges, not at the same time.

The 924(c) Mandatory Minimums – Five Years Minimum Just for Having a Gun

18 U.S.C. § 924(c) is the law that destroys cases. If you’re charged with a drug trafficking crime or a crime of violence and the government can prove you possessed, used, or carried a firearm during that crime – you’re facing a mandatory minimum that runs consecutive to whatever sentence you get for the underlying offense.

The mandatory minimums under 924(c) break down like this: five years for possessing a firearm during the crime, seven years if you brandished it, ten years if you discharged it. Those numbers assume it’s a regular firearm. Short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns, or semiautomatic assault weapons – ten-year minimum. Machine guns, destructive devices, or firearms with silencers – thirty-year minimum.

According to recent USSC data, 66.5% of defendants convicted under 924(c) received the five-year mandatory minimum, 19.1% got seven years, and 14.5% faced ten years or more. The average sentence for all 924(c) defendants was 150 months – that’s twelve and a half years. These aren’t guidelines recommendations, these are mandatory floors that judges cannot go below.

Second or subsequent 924(c) convictions carry a mandatory 25 years to life. That’s twenty-five years added on top of everything else. The government loves stacking these charges, and in February 2025, the DOJ issued a memo directing prosecutors to charge and pursue the most serious readily provable offense – which means they’re going for maximum mandatory minimums in gun cases.

Armed Career Criminal Act – Fifteen Years for Three Strikes

If you’re a convicted felon caught with a gun, you’re facing 18 U.S.C. § 922(g) charges. The base offense doesn’t carry a mandatory minimum – it’s up to ten years max. Your criminal history drives the guidelines calculation, and many defendants end up in the 3-5 year range without a mandatory floor.

But if you have three prior convictions for violent felonies or serious drug offenses – you’re an Armed Career Criminal under 18 U.S.C. § 924(e). That triggers a fifteen-year mandatory minimum. No exceptions, no safety valve, no getting around it.

The USSC reports that 194 individuals qualified as Armed Career Criminals in FY 2024, with 83.4% remaining subject to the mandatory minimum at sentencing. Their average sentence was 214 months – nearly eighteen years. Some got relief through cooperation or other departures, dropping the average to 122 months for those who received relief, but most defendants serve the full fifteen years minimum.

What counts as a violent felony or serious drug offense? That’s been the subject of Supreme Court litigation for years. Burglary counts. Robbery counts. Many drug trafficking offenses count if they carried ten years or more as a maximum sentence under state law. Your lawyer needs to examine each prior conviction to determine if it qualifies – courts have ruled that not every burglary or drug offense automatically triggers ACCA, but prosecutors will argue it does.

The Stacking Problem – How Mandatory Minimums Multiply

Here’s what happens in a real case. Federal agents arrest you for distributing methamphetamine – that’s a drug trafficking crime. They find a gun in your car – that’s 922(g) felon in possession if you have a prior felony. They charge 924(c) because you possessed the gun “during and in relation to” the drug trafficking.

The drug charge carries a ten-year mandatory minimum under 21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1)(A) if you had 50 grams or more of actual meth. The 924(c) adds five years mandatory consecutive. If you have three prior violent felonies, the 922(g) becomes ACCA with fifteen years mandatory. The judge has no choice – you’re looking at thirty years minimum before any guidelines calculations even start.

That’s not a worst-case scenario, that’s a common scenario. We see these stacked charges regularly. Prosecutors use them as leverage to force guilty pleas – because going to trial and losing means decades in federal prison with no parole.

The only way to avoid the mandatory minimum in a 924(c) case is to win at trial or get the charge dismissed. There’s no safety valve for gun charges like there is for some drug offenses. Acceptance of responsibility doesn’t reduce the mandatory minimum. Substantial assistance can get you below the mandatory, but only if the government files a motion – and they usually won’t unless you’re cooperating against someone bigger.

What This Means for Your Case

If you’re charged with a federal gun crime, the mandatory minimum is probably the most important number in your case. It doesn’t matter what the guidelines say, it doesn’t matter if you have family support or employment history or anything else – if the mandatory applies and you’re convicted, you’re serving that time.

Your attorney needs to challenge whether the mandatory applies at all. Can the government prove you “used or carried” the firearm during the crime? Can they prove the predicate offense qualifies as a crime of violence or drug trafficking crime? Can they prove your prior convictions count under ACCA? These are fact-intensive questions that require investigation and legal research.

At Spodek Law Group – we handle these federal firearms cases regularly. Our team includes former federal prosecutors who understand how the government builds these cases and where the weaknesses are. Todd Spodek has many, many years of experience fighting mandatory minimums, and we’ve gotten dismissals, acquittals, and charge reductions in cases where prosecutors insisted the mandatory would stick.

The worst thing you can do is accept that the mandatory minimum is inevitable. Every element has to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt, every prior conviction has to qualify under the statute, and every legal argument has to be preserved for appeal. We’ve had cases where a single word in the statute – “carry” versus “possess” – made the difference between five years mandatory and probation.

Federal gun charges are serious, the mandatory minimums are real, and the stakes are your freedom for the next decade or more. Call Spodek Law Group. We’re available 24/7, and we’ll tell you exactly what you’re facing and what we can do about it.