JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A retired U.S. Navy sailor and former weapons instructor has pleaded guilty to unlawfully possessing unregistered silencers and an unregistered short-barrel rifle following a joint investigation with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Jacksonville.
Rocco Joseph Frakes, 50, of Middleburg, faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
According to the plea agreement, on July 25, 2024, federal agents executed a search warrant at Frakes’s home and located a .22 caliber rifle with a threaded barrel, three silencers, a rifle with a 7.5-inch long barrel, and a .45 caliber machinegun in Frakes’s bedroom. Contrary to federal law, none of these devices were registered to Frakes in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record — a database maintained by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Frakes is retired from the U.S. Navy, where his primary duty was as a weapons instructor for Atlantic Fleet squadrons.
This case was investigated by HSI Jacksonville, the ATF, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Elisibeth Adams.
HSI Tampa area of responsibility, which includes 10 geographically strategic offices, covers more than 51,600 square miles of the total 65,757 square miles in the state of Florida. This region has more than 14.2 million people and includes 58 of the 67 counties. HSI Tampa also includes five of the 10 largest cities in Florida, 15 primary commercial service airports, and 11 seaports.
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