Fighting an Army Larceny Charge: How Contested Cases Ended

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Based on 25 cases · 2021–2025 · Army records · data updated October 24, 2026

Few Contested Larceny Cases Ended in a Full Acquittal

Every case here is one where the accused pleaded not guilty, in full or in part, to a set of charges that included larceny. The comparison group is therefore all contested Army cases in the same years, not all Army cases.

5 of the 25 cases ended in a full acquittal, meaning not guilty of every charge. The full-acquittal rate was 20%, lower than the 38% in all contested Army cases. 14 cases ended in a partial acquittal: not guilty of at least one charge or specification but guilty of another. Army results list findings charge by charge, which is why partial acquittals are common.

Members Acquitted More Often Than Military Judges

Contested cases decided by members ended in a full acquittal 33% of the time (4 of 12). Cases decided by a military judge alone ended in a full acquittal 8% of the time (1 of 13). The accused usually chooses whether a judge or a panel decides guilt, so the judge-alone and members cases are not alike. The counts are also small.

Members heard 48% of these cases: 11 enlisted panels and 1 officer panel. In all contested Army cases, members heard 60%. A military judge alone decided the other 13.

Confinement After a Conviction

20 cases ended in a conviction on at least one charge, and 14 of those sentences included confinement (70%). The median confinement was 9 months, lower than the 1.5 years in all contested Army cases. A quarter of the sentences were 2.3 years or longer. 1 was a life sentence.

These are adjudged sentences, before any clemency or appeal. Each sentence covers every charge in the case.

Sentence Lengths

6 of 20 convictions (30%) were sentenced to more than one year, compared with 44% in all contested Army cases. 15% of convictions here were sentenced to more than 1 year and under 5 years, compared with 28%.

Shorter sentences were more common. 30% of convictions had no confinement, compared with 25%. 30% were sentenced to under 6 months, compared with 22%. Sentences of 5 years or more were 15% in both groups.

Other Charges in the Same Cases

22 of the 25 cases charged at least one other article. Article 107 (false official statement) was charged in 10, Article 134 (general article) and Article 92 (orders violation) in 8 each, Article 128b (domestic violence) in 7, and Article 120 (sexual assault) in 5.

Each sentence covers the whole case. The longest sentences in this group, including the life sentence, cover every finding in the case, not the larceny charge alone. The records do not divide a sentence among charges.

NCOs and Officers Made Up Most of the Accused

By rank, the accused were 2 junior enlisted members, 18 NCOs, and 5 officers. That group is more senior than all contested Army cases. 19 of 25 cases were general courts-martial (76%), the level that can impose long confinement and a dishonorable discharge.

62% of convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge (7 bad-conduct and 3 dishonorable), compared with 64% in all contested Army cases. 2 of 4 convicted officers or warrant officers were dismissed. A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation.

Timing and Locations

The cases were tried from January 2021 to December 2025: 6 in 2021, 8 in 2022, 4 in 2023, 1 in 2024, and 6 in 2025. The services were required to begin publishing trial records under Article 140a by December 2020, and Army records in this data are sparse before 2021.

Vilseck (Europe) and Joint Base Lewis-McChord had 3 cases each, and Fort Knox, Fort Bragg, and Fort Sill 2 each. Together they account for 48% of the 25 cases. Larger installations try more cases of every kind, and counts this small do not show a problem at any single base.

What the Records Cannot Show

Since December 28, 2023, special trial counsel, not commanders, decide whether to prosecute covered offenses. New sentencing parameters apply when every guilty finding is for an offense after December 27, 2023. Both rules depend on offense dates, which these records do not give.

Larceny handled by nonjudicial punishment, administrative separation, or no action is not in these records. The records do not describe the evidence or any plea terms.

For what the offense covers and how it is defended, see Article 121 on the law firm's website. Dates and sources for the law changes: UCMJ change timeline.

Compare: federal court. Theft and Fraud: Federal Sentences vs. Army Courts-Martial

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.