Rocco Joseph Frakes, a 50-year-old resident of Middleburg, Florida, has entered a guilty plea for the unlawful possession of unregistered silencers and an unregistered short-barrel rifle. The announcement was made by United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg. Frakes is facing a potential maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison, though no date for sentencing has been established.

The plea agreement details that on July 25, 2024, federal agents executed a search warrant at Frakes's residence. They discovered a .22 caliber rifle with a threaded barrel, three silencers, a rifle with a 7½ inch barrel, and a .45 caliber machine gun in his bedroom. These items were not registered to Frakes in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record as required by federal law. Frakes is retired from the United States Navy where he served as a weapons instructor for Atlantic Fleet squadrons.

The investigation was conducted by Homeland Security Investigations, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and the United States Postal Inspection Service. Assistant United States Attorney Elisibeth Adams is prosecuting the case.

This legal action falls under Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), an initiative aimed at reducing violent crime and gun violence through collaboration between law enforcement agencies and community organizations. The program emphasizes building trust within communities, supporting violence prevention initiatives, prioritizing strategic enforcement actions, and evaluating outcomes since its strengthened strategy launch on May 26, 2021.