FEDERAL CHARGES FILED AGAINST PENSACOLA MAN FOR FIREARM OFFENSES

PENSACOLA, FLORIDA – Joshua Dean Hardy, 26, of Pensacola, Florida, has been indicted in federal court for two counts of unlawful possession of firearm under the National Firearms Act (NFA), namely two unregistered and unserialized silencers and a destructive device, and one count of possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number. John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida announced the charges.

Hardy is scheduled for arraignment before United States Magistrate Judge Hope T. Cannon at the United States Courthouse in Pensacola, Florida, on August 28, 2025 at 11:00 a.m.

If convicted as charged, Hardy faces up to 10 years’ imprisonment as it relates to each of the NFA violations, and another five years for his possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number.

The case is being jointly investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer H. Callahan.

An indictment is merely an allegation by a grand jury that a defendant has committed a violation of federal criminal law and is not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial, during which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America (https://www.justice.gov/dag/media/1393746/dl?inline ) a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General.  To access public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website.  For more information about the United States Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Florida, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html.