30 Larceny Courts-Martial at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, 2017–2018: What the Records Show

Trends › By Installation › Camp Lejeune, North Carolina › Article 121, 2017–2018

Based on 30 cases · 2017–2018 · Navy and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026

Longer Confinement for Larceny

Confinement was part of 97% of the 29 convictions. The median confinement was 11 months, compared with 8 months in Navy and Marine Corps Article 121 cases overall. A quarter of the sentences were 2.2 years or longer.

Sentences longer than one year were 11 of 29 convictions (38%), compared with 21% in the rest of the service. Of those, 2 were 5 years or more. Only 1 conviction had no confinement (3%), compared with 10% across the service.

Shorter sentences were less common. Sentences under 6 months made up 24% of convictions here, compared with 32% across the Navy and Marine Corps. Sentences of 6 months to 1 year made up 34%, compared with 37%. These are adjudged sentences, imposed at trial before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal. They cover every charge in a case.

Punitive Discharges in 93% of Convictions

A punitive discharge is a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge for an enlisted member. At Camp Lejeune, 27 of 29 convicted enlisted members received one: 20 bad-conduct and 7 dishonorable. In all Navy and Marine Corps Article 121 cases for 2017–2018, the share was 74%.

A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation. Those separations are not part of court-martial records.

In these years at Camp Lejeune, almost every larceny conviction included both confinement and a punitive discharge. That combination was less common across the rest of the Navy and Marine Corps.

Conspiracy and Other Companion Charges

Larceny was rarely the only charge here: 25 of the 30 cases charged at least one other article. Article 81 (conspiracy) was the most common, in 13 cases. Article 92 (orders violation) and Article 107 (false official statement) appeared in 6 each. Article 130 (housebreaking) appeared in 5, and Article 80 (attempt) in 3.

A sentence covers every charge, so these companion charges are part of the confinement and discharge figures.

Sentences by Court Level

Camp Lejeune tried 13 of the 30 cases at general courts-martial (43%), compared with 33% across the Navy and Marine Corps. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence, including long confinement and a dishonorable discharge. It is the only level that can impose more than one year. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and can impose a bad-conduct discharge but not a dishonorable discharge.

Every conviction at a general court-martial included confinement (100%), with a median of 2.2 years. At the 17 special courts-martial, 94% of convictions did, with a median of 6 months.

A Mostly Junior Group

Junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) made up 83% of the accused. NCOs (E-5 to E-9) made up 17%, and officers made up 0%. Across all Navy and Marine Corps Article 121 cases in 2017–2018, 68% of the accused were junior enlisted. The Camp Lejeune group was more junior. No officers appear, so the discharge figures cover enlisted members only.

When the Cases Were Tried

The data holds 30 cases from March 2017 to December 2018: 13 in 2017 and 17 in 2018. Larceny charges appeared in 21% of the 140 courts-martial at Camp Lejeune over those years. The records give trial dates, not the dates of any theft. The yearly counts show when cases were tried. 2018 had more cases than 2017, but with groups this small the difference means little.

Before the 2019 Rules

All of these trials took place before the Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect on January 1, 2019. That law set fixed panel sizes, created judge-alone special courts-martial capped at six months with no punitive discharge, and brought in written plea agreements. Offenses committed before 2019 remained under the earlier rules even when tried later.

Gaps in What Is Known

Navy and Marine Corps records before December 2020 often omit the plea. This group has no plea breakdown, so it cannot show how many accused contested the charges or how contested cases ended. Only cases that reached a courtroom are counted. The records also omit the evidence and plea terms. They leave out thefts handled through nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation.

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 by Dollar Loss: Federal Sentences vs. Article 121 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.