Bremerton, Washington, 2013–2018: Charges, Verdicts, and Sentences in 221 Cases

Trends › By Installation › Bremerton, Washington › 2013–2018

Based on 221 cases · 2013–2018 · Navy and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026

Drug Charges Were the Most Common

Charges are listed in 210 of the 221 records, and each article counts once per case. Article 112a, covering wrongful use or possession of controlled substances, was the most common charge, in 34% of cases, compared with 23% across the Navy and Marine Corps. Article 81 (conspiracy) appeared in 12% of cases, compared with 7%. Article 86 (AWOL) appeared in 11%, compared with 7%.

Violent and sexual offenses appeared less often than in the rest of the service. Article 120 (rape and sexual assault) was charged in 11% of cases, compared with 22%. Article 128 (assault) was charged in 30%, compared with 37%.

Drug Cases Almost Always Ended in a Guilty Plea

Cases charging Article 112a ended in a guilty plea 97% of the time (68 of 70 with a plea listed), the highest among the top charges. Cases charging Article 128 ended in a guilty plea 79% of the time (50 of 63). The records do not say why an accused pleaded guilty or contested the charges.

The plea is listed in 210 of the 221 records. In 183 cases the accused pleaded guilty, and 27 cases were contested. A contested case is one with a not-guilty or mixed plea. The contested share was 13%, lower than the 29% across the Navy and Marine Corps. Fewer cases here went to trial on the merits. Navy and Marine Corps records before December 2020 often omit the plea, and these counts use only the records that list it.

What Happened at Contested Trials?

Of 27 contested cases that reached a verdict, 11 ended in a full acquittal (41%). 1 ended in a partial acquittal (4%), meaning not guilty of at least one charge or specification but guilty of another. The full-acquittal rate was lower than the 46% across the Navy and Marine Corps.

The contested share also differed by court level. General courts-martial here were contested 25% of the time. Special courts-martial were contested 8% of the time.

Conviction Rates and Sentences by Charge

Every case charging Article 112a ended in a conviction on that article (71 of 71), with a median confinement of 4 months. Article 121 (larceny) ended in a conviction in 29 of 29 cases, with a median of 6 months. Article 107 (false official statements) ended in a conviction on that article in 30 of 31 cases. Article 128 ended in a conviction in 58 of 64, the lowest rate among the top charges.

A conviction on one article and an acquittal on another can happen in the same case, so these rows overlap. Each median covers the full sentence in cases with a conviction on that article.

Confinement Was Common but Short

Confinement was part of 94% of the 210 convictions. The median confinement was 5 months, compared with 6 months in the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps. A quarter of the sentences were 1 year or longer. These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal.

Sentences under 6 months made up 53% of convictions here, compared with 39% across the service. Sentences longer than one year were 41 of 210 convictions (20%), compared with 26%. Sentences of 5 years or more were 6%, compared with 9%. Only 6% of convictions had no confinement, compared with 12% in the rest of the service.

Mostly Special Courts-Martial

General courts-martial, the level that can impose long confinement and a dishonorable discharge, made up 32% of cases (71 of 221). The other 150 were special courts-martial, which cap confinement at one year. The median confinement was 1.8 years at general courts-martial and 4 months at special courts-martial.

Fewer Punitive Discharges

Among 202 convicted enlisted members, 106 received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge (52%). That is less often than the 64% in the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps. Of those, 18 were dishonorable. Among 5 convicted officers or warrant officers, 3 were dismissed. Dismissal is the officer equivalent of a punitive discharge.

A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation. Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) made up 63% of the accused, compared with 56% across the rest of the service. NCOs were 34%, and officers were 2%.

How Bremerton Compares With San Diego and Camp Pendleton

San Diego, California (285 cases) and Camp Pendleton, California (149 cases) tried a similar number of cases. San Diego's contested share was 23%, higher than the 13% here. At San Diego, 34 of 64 contested cases that reached a verdict ended in a full acquittal. The median confinement was 5 months at both Bremerton and San Diego and 8 months at Camp Pendleton. Punitive discharges for enlisted members were 52% here, 55% at San Diego, and 71% at Camp Pendleton.

Period, Rules, and Missing Pieces

The trials took place from February 2013 to December 2018. There were 14 in 2013, 47 in 2014, 45 in 2015, 37 in 2016, 50 in 2017, and 28 in 2018. They were 11% of the 2,059 Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial in those years. All were tried before the Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect on January 1, 2019.

The records give trial dates, not offense dates. They do not describe the evidence or the plea terms. They do not include nonjudicial punishment or administrative separations.

Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.

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.