Jason R. Coody, U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Florida
Louis Terrell Jones, a 42-year-old resident of Fort Walton Beach, Florida, has pleaded guilty to charges of possessing a firearm as a convicted felon and possession of a machinegun. The announcement was made by John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.
U.S. Attorney Heekin stated: “Our brave law enforcement officers are increasingly encountering and seizing firearms that have been illegally modified to fire as fully automatic machineguns. My office remains fully committed to fulfilling the promise made by President Donald J. Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi to Take Back America by targeting these violent criminals with the full force of the law.”
According to court documents, in November 2024, an Escambia County Sheriff’s Office deputy conducted a routine traffic stop on Jones. During the search of his vehicle, authorities discovered a Glock 9 millimeter pistol equipped with a device that converted it into a machinegun. Jones is barred from owning firearms due to prior felony convictions including attempted burglary, possession of weapons on school property, unlawful possession of weapons by a felon, and aggravated assault with a firearm.
Jones could face up to twenty-five years in prison, three years of supervised release after his sentence is completed, and up to $250,000 in fines.
The investigation was carried out jointly by the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. Assistant United States Attorney Jeffrey Tharp is handling prosecution duties in this case.
Sentencing is set for November 6, 2025 at the United States Courthouse in Pensacola before Judge T. Kent Wetherell II.
This prosecution falls under Operation Take Back America (https://www.justice.gov/dag/media/1393746/dl?inline ), an initiative designed to use all available Department of Justice resources against illegal immigration activities and organized criminal groups while protecting communities from violent crime. The operation brings together efforts from both Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida operates as one of 94 federal offices responsible for prosecuting federal crimes under guidance from the Attorney General.
