A Jacksonville woman has admitted in federal court that she helped buy dozens of firearms in Northeast Florida and covertly route them toward Haiti, in a case that stretched from local gun counters to Caribbean ports. On Thursday, 28-year-old Francesca Charles pleaded guilty to conspiracy to smuggle goods and unlawfully ship firearms and now faces a possible federal prison term. Her sentencing hearing is scheduled for Aug. 18, 2026, following a multinational probe that began after a large weapons seizure at a Dominican Republic port in early 2025.
Seizure That Sparked The Probe
In February 2025, Dominican customs officers inspected a container transiting from Miami to Haiti and found 18 rifles, five handguns, more than 36,000 rounds of ammunition and a silencer, according to a press release via the U.S. Attorney's Office, Middle District of Florida. The intercept, which The Associated Press described as part of a wider regional trend, came after the shipment's manifest listed household goods instead of weapons.
Purchases Tied To Jacksonville
Federal agents with the ATF and Homeland Security Investigations concluded the co‑conspirators purchased at least 46 firearms between May 2024 and February 2025, with Charles buying roughly half of them, court documents show. Records reviewed by WFTV say agents tied at least 20 of the 23 firearms recovered from the intercepted container to purchases made in Jacksonville.
Charges, Plea And Next Court Date
Charles pleaded guilty to counts including conspiracy to smuggle goods and unlawfully ship firearms and faces a statutory maximum of 20 years in federal prison. According to the press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office, Middle District of Florida, her sentencing hearing is scheduled for Aug. 18, 2026, and two co‑defendants, Jacques Pierre and his brother Jeff Pierre, have been separately charged in the case.
How Investigators Say The Scheme Worked
Investigators say the operation relied on clusters of purchases from Jacksonville dealers, false shipping paperwork and carefully timed travel by the buyers to the Caribbean around the arrival of cargo. Travel and shipping records reviewed by News4Jax show the defendants traveled to the Dominican Republic three days before the container was intercepted and to Haiti around the time other shipments were due to arrive.
Why The Case Matters
The prosecution is one of several tied to weapons that have ended up in Haiti and neighboring countries, highlighting long‑standing concerns about U.S.-origin small arms flowing offshore. The Associated Press has documented large seizures and quoted officials saying a large share of weapons used in regional violence are trafficked from the United States.
