PENSACOLA MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO POSSESSING UNREGISTERED MACHINEGUN

PENSACOLA, FLORIDA – Prashant M. Jenkins Jr., 24, of Pensacola, Florida, pleaded guilty in federal court to charges of possession of an unregistered machinegun. The plea was announced by John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.

Court documents reflect that on October 30, 2024, law enforcement officers found and seized from Jenkins’ residence an AR-style machinegun conversion device, a Glock pistol with a loaded magazine, a loaded AR-15 magazine, approximately 500 grams of marijuana, and other suspected drug trafficking paraphernalia. The conversion device, which itself is considered a machinegun under federal law, was not marked with a serial number and was not registered in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record as required.

U.S. Attorney Heekin said: “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.”

Sentencing is currently set for September 30, 2025, at 1 p.m. at the United States Courthouse in Pensacola before United States District Judge M. Casey Rodgers. Jenkins faces up to 10 years’ imprisonment and will be prohibited from possessing any firearms or ammunition.

The plea was the result of a joint investigation 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 Alicia H. Forbes.

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.