Jacksonville Woman Pleads Guilty to Unlawfully Smuggling Firearms from United States to Haiti

Jacksonville, Florida - Francesca Charles (28, Jacksonville) has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to smuggle goods and unlawfully ship firearms, unlawfully shipping firearms, and smuggling goods from the United States. She faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. The sentencing hearing is scheduled for August 18, 2026. United States Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe made the announcement.

According to court documents, in February 2025, officials in the Dominican Republic seized 18 rifles, 5 handguns, firearms magazines, more than 36,000 rounds of ammunition, and a silencer from inside a container that had been shipped from Miami, Florida. The shipping container was destined for Haiti. The firearms and ammunition were not listed on the shipping manifest, which instead listed household goods. Agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), as well as Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), learned that Charles, Jacques Pierre, and Jeff Pierre were the purchasers of at least 20 of the 23 firearms seized from the shipping container.

Throughout the investigation, agents learned that the defendants had purchased at least 46 firearms between May 2024 and February 2025, most of which were the same make and model as the firearms recovered in the Dominican Republic. Thirty-seven of those firearms were purchased between August 9, 2024, and February 10, 2025. Charles purchased at least 24 of the 46 firearms.

Agents also obtained records that Jacques Pierre had purchased two Barrett .50-caliber rifles, which are heavy-duty military-style weapons that are typically mounted to the tops of vehicles and used in furtherance of violence by gangs and cartels. One of the Barrett rifles was recovered from the aforementioned shipment in February 2025. The second Barrett rifle was recovered in November 2025 during a clash between Haitian police and an armed gang.

Travel and shipping records showed that the co-conspirators facilitated a shipment to Haiti shortly after purchasing a large number of firearms, then traveled to Haiti around the time the shipment was scheduled to arrive in Haiti. Travel records also showed that the defendants traveled to the Dominican Republic three days before the shipping container was intercepted.

In related court proceedings, Jacques Pierre (age 32) and his brother, Jeff Pierre (age 34), both citizens of Haiti residing in Florida, have been charged with conspiracy to smuggle goods and unlawfully ship firearms, smuggling goods from the United States, and unlawfully shipping firearms. If convicted, each faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.

This case is being investigated by the ATF and HSI with assistance from the U.S. Embassy Port-au-Prince and the United States Marshals Service. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Elisibeth Adams.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, 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 and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.