Guilty Pleas in Navy-Marine Corps Military Property Cases: How Often, and What Came Next
The records hold 16 Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial from 2017–2025 where the accused pleaded guilty to charges including Article 108 (military property).
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 4 min read
Trends › By Offense › Article 108 › Guilty Pleas in Navy-Marine Corps Milita
Short answer: The records hold 16 Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial from 2017–2025 where the accused pleaded guilty to charges including Article 108 (military property). 7 of 15 convicted enlisted members received a punitive discharge (47%), less often than the 60% for all Navy and Marine Corps guilty pleas in those years. The median confinement was 7 months, compared with 6 months.
Punitive Discharges in 7 of 15 Enlisted Convictions
Among 15 enlisted members convicted, 7 received a bad-conduct or dishonorable discharge (47%). For all Navy and Marine Corps guilty pleas in those years, the rate was 60%. 1 of the 7 was a dishonorable discharge.
A sentence without a punitive discharge does not rule out a later administrative separation. The records do not show administrative separations.
Larceny Often Charged Alongside
14 of the 16 cases charged at least one article besides Article 108. Article 121 (larceny) appeared in 8 cases. Article 92 (orders violation) and Article 134 (general article) each appeared in 5. Article 128 (assault) appeared in 4 and Article 91 (insubordination) in 3.
Confinement in 12 of 16 Sentences
All 16 cases ended in a conviction on at least one charge, and 12 of the sentences included confinement (75%). The median confinement was 7 months, compared with 6 months for all Navy and Marine Corps guilty pleas in those years.
Among the sentences with confinement, a quarter were 1.1 years or longer. These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal, and they cover every charge in the case.
Rank and Court Level
9 of the accused were junior enlisted (E-1 to E-4), 6 were NCOs (E-5 to E-9), and 0 were officers or warrant officers. This mix was more senior than all Navy and Marine Corps guilty pleas in those years, where 65% were junior enlisted.
General courts-martial made up 38% of these cases (6 of 16), and special courts-martial made up the rest. A general court-martial can impose long confinement and a dishonorable discharge. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year.
Trial Years
The 16 trials took place between February 2021 and June 2025: 6 in 2021, 3 in 2022, 4 in 2023, 1 in 2024, and 2 in 2025. None appear from 2017 through 2020. Navy and Marine Corps records before December 2020 often omit the plea, and these counts use only records that list one.
Changes in Military Law
The window opens before January 1, 2019, the day the Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect, although every case in this group was tried later. The act standardized panel sizes, required plea agreements to be written, and added a judge-alone special court-martial whose limit is six months of confinement and no punitive discharge.
For covered offenses, such as domestic violence, murder, and sexual assault, special trial counsel have made the prosecution decision since December 28, 2023. A military judge also sentences within new parameters if each guilty finding is for an offense dated after December 27, 2023. These records leave the offense dates out.
What the Records Leave Out
The records do not describe the evidence, the property involved, or the plea terms. Cases handled by nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation are not included.
Dates and sources for the law changes mentioned here: UCMJ change timeline.
How We Counted
Navy and Marine Corps courts-martial tried 2017–2025: where the accused pleaded guilty to charges including Article 108 (military property) (16 cases), compared with all Navy and Marine Corps guilty pleas in those years.
Source: public court-martial records (Article 140a, UCMJ) in Military Trial Results, data updated October 24, 2026. Definitions, sources, and known gaps: how this data was built. Errors: content@bodiesburied.com.
Related Analysis
- Article 108 (Military Property; Loss, Damage, Destruction): Court-Martial Data and Trends (hub)
- Sentences (hub)
- Is Navy-Marine Corps Military Property Prosecution Rising or Falling? Article 108, 2017–2025
- Article 108 Sentences in the Navy-Marine Corps: Confinement and Discharges, 2017–2025
- Guilty Pleas in Army Military Property Cases: How Often, and What Came Next (another service)
- Guilty Pleas in Navy-Marine Corps AWOL Cases: How Often, and What Came Next
- Guilty Pleas in Navy-Marine Corps Assault Cases: How Often, and What Came Next
- Guilty Pleas in Navy-Marine Corps Child Endangerment Cases: How Often, and What Came Next
- Search every case in Military Trial Results (members)
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.