A federal court case has exposed a large-scale illicit weapons trafficking ring that moved firearms from Florida to violent gangs in Haiti, with a local Haitian-American woman admitting her role in the scheme. U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe for the Central District of Florida announced May 6 that 28-year-old Francesca Charles of Jacksonville, Florida, has pleaded guilty to two key charges: conspiracy to smuggle goods out of the United States and illegal shipment of firearms and contraband. Charles now faces a maximum possible sentence of 20 years in federal prison, with her sentencing hearing scheduled to take place August 18.
The case traces back to a major 2025 seizure by Dominican law enforcement, who intercepted a shipping container traveling from Miami bound for Haiti. Inside the container, authorities found a massive cache of illegal weaponry: 25 total firearms, including a .50 caliber Barrett sniper rifle, 17 7.62 caliber rifles, one 9mm rifle, five 9mm Glock pistols, an Uzi submachine gun, plus more than 36,000 rounds of mixed-caliber ammunition, 18 assault rifle magazines, 13 9mm magazines, one .50 caliber magazine, and a firearm silencer.
Joint investigation by agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Florida Attorney General’s Office, and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) traced the seized weapons to three Florida-based co-conspirators: Charles, 32-year-old Jacques Pierre and 34-year-old Jeff Pierre, both Haitian citizens residing in the state. Investigators confirmed the trio purchased at least 20 of the 23 recovered firearms included in the seized cache.
A deeper probe into the group’s activities found that between May 2024 and February 2025, the three defendants acquired at least 46 firearms total, most matching the makes and models of weapons recovered in the Dominican Republic. Thirty-seven of these weapons were bought in just a six-month window between August 2024 and February 2025, with Charles alone accounting for purchases of at least 24 of the 46 documented firearms. Court records also show Jacques Pierre purchased two .50 caliber Barrett rifles – heavy, vehicle-mounted military-grade weapons that are widely used by gangs and drug cartels for violent operations.
The two Pierre brothers remain involved in separate ongoing legal proceedings. Both have been indicted on charges of conspiracy to smuggle goods, illegal firearms trafficking, and smuggling goods out of the United States. If convicted on all counts, each also faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.