How Norfolk, Virginia Handled Larceny Cases (Article 121), 2013–2018

Trends › By Installation › Norfolk, Virginia › Article 121, 2013–2018

Based on 39 cases · 2013–2018 · Navy and Marine Corps records · data updated October 24, 2026

Most Cases Ended in a Guilty Plea

Few larceny cases at Norfolk were contested. Of 38 records that list a plea, 35 show a guilty plea and 3 show a not-guilty or mixed plea, which makes a case contested. The contested share of 8% was slightly lower than the 10% across all Navy and Marine Corps Article 121 cases in 2013–2018.

All 39 cases ended in a conviction on at least one charge. The records do not show plea terms, so they cannot show whether any guilty plea was made under a plea agreement.

Most Confinement Was Under 1 Year

Of 39 convictions, 36 included confinement (92%). The median confinement was 6 months, the same as the 6 months median service-wide. A quarter of sentences were 11 months or longer.

Long sentences were uncommon. Only 2 convictions (5%) included more than one year, compared with 14% in Navy and Marine Corps Article 121 cases overall. Of those, 1 was more than 1 year and under 5 years, and 1 was 5 years or more. Most sentences were under 6 months (46%) or 6 months to 1 year (41%). These are adjudged sentences, before any plea-agreement cap, clemency, or appeal.

Most Cases Were Special Courts-Martial

Special courts-martial tried 29 of the cases, and general courts-martial tried 10. The general court-martial share, 26%, was about the same as the 24% across Navy and Marine Corps Article 121 cases overall.

Sentences and contested shares were different at the 2 levels. At general courts-martial, the median confinement was 10 months, and 20% of cases were contested. At special courts-martial, the median was 5 months, and 4% were contested. A special court-martial caps confinement at one year and cannot impose a dishonorable discharge. A general court-martial can impose any lawful sentence.

Punitive Discharges at the Service Rate

A punitive discharge followed 68% of enlisted convictions here: 23 bad-conduct discharges and 2 dishonorable discharges. Special courts-martial, which tried most of these cases, can impose only a bad-conduct discharge. The share was the same as the 68% in Navy and Marine Corps Article 121 cases overall.

The group includes 2 convicted officers or warrant officers, and neither was dismissed. A sentence without a punitive discharge or dismissal does not rule out a later administrative separation.

False Statements and Conspiracy Charged With Larceny

Article 121 was the only charge in 9 of the 39 cases. The other cases included other articles, most often Article 107 (false official statement) in 10 cases and Article 81 (conspiracy) in 9. Article 92 (orders violation) was charged in 7, and Article 105 (misconduct as a prisoner) and Article 112a (drug) in 4 each.

A sentence covers every charge in a case. The figures above describe whole cases, including those other offenses.

Rank of the Accused

The accused included 19 junior enlisted members (E-1 to E-4) and 18 NCOs (E-5 to E-9). Another 2 were officers or warrant officers. That was a more senior mix than Navy and Marine Corps-wide larceny cases, where 55% of the accused were junior enlisted. At Norfolk in these years, NCOs were about as common as junior enlisted members among those charged with larceny. The records do not say what was taken or from whom.

Cases by Year

The trials took place from January 2013 to December 2018. The count was highest in the first year, with 12 in 2013. There were 4 in 2014, 6 in 2015, 8 in 2016, 2 in 2017, and 7 in 2018. Over the period, larceny cases made up 13% of the 308 courts-martial at Norfolk, Virginia.

All of these trials were before January 1, 2019, when the Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect. That law set fixed panel sizes, created judge-alone special courts-martial capped at six months with no punitive discharge, and introduced written plea agreements. Cases with offenses before 2019 kept the old rules.

What the Records Do Not Show

These records cover only courts-martial. They do not include thefts handled through nonjudicial punishment or administrative separation. They do not show the evidence in any case, the amount taken, or the terms of a plea. They give trial dates, not offense dates. Navy and Marine Corps records from before December 2020 often omit the plea and forum, so who decided guilt is not reported here.

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.