Prashant M. Jenkins Jr., a 24-year-old resident of Pensacola, Florida, has pleaded guilty in federal court to possessing an unregistered machinegun. This plea was announced by John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.
According to court documents, on October 30, 2024, law enforcement discovered and confiscated several items from Jenkins’ home. These included 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 paraphernalia suspected to be related to drug trafficking. The conversion device is classified as a machinegun under federal law but lacked a serial number and was not registered in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record.
U.S. Attorney Heekin stated: “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., taking place at the United States Courthouse in Pensacola before Judge M. Casey Rodgers. Jenkins could face up to ten years in prison and will be barred from owning firearms or ammunition.
The plea follows a joint 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 forms part of Operation Take Back America (https://www.justice.gov/dag/media/1393746/dl?inline), which aims to utilize resources from the Department of Justice against illegal immigration and criminal organizations while protecting communities from violent crime perpetrators through its Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida functions as one among 94 offices nationwide that act as principal litigators under guidance from the Attorney General.
