Jason R. Coody, U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Florida
Prashant M. Jenkins Jr., a 24-year-old resident of Pensacola, Florida, has entered a guilty plea in federal court for possessing an unregistered machinegun. The announcement was made by John P. Heekin, the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.
According to court documents, law enforcement discovered and confiscated an AR-style machinegun conversion device from Jenkins' home on October 30, 2024. Alongside this device, authorities found a Glock pistol with a loaded magazine, a loaded AR-15 magazine, approximately 500 grams of marijuana, and other items suspected to be related to drug trafficking. The conversion device is classified as a machinegun under federal law and was neither marked with a serial number nor registered in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record.
U.S. Attorney Heekin commented: “I applaud the excellent work of the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office and our federal ATF agents to make our community safer by getting this dangerous individual off the streets. My office remains fully committed to aggressively prosecuting those who illegally manufacture and possess these dangerous weapons, fulfilling the promise made by President Donald J. Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi to Take Back America by targeting violent criminals with the full force of the law.”
Jenkins' sentencing is scheduled for September 30, 2025, at 1 p.m., at the United States Courthouse in Pensacola before United States District Judge M. Casey Rodgers. He could face up to ten years in prison and will be banned from owning any firearms or ammunition.
The guilty plea results from a collaborative investigation conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives along with the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney Alicia H. Forbes is prosecuting this case.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America—a national initiative that utilizes resources from various Department of Justice entities such as Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN)—aimed at combating illegal immigration and dismantling cartels and transnational criminal organizations while protecting communities from violent crime perpetrators.
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida operates as one of 94 offices under the direction of the Attorney General serving as principal litigators for the nation.
