Maxfer Palma was sentenced on July 13 to 192 months in federal prison after being convicted of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine on premises where children were present or resided, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. U.S. District Judge Jon S. Tigar handed down the sentence.
Palma, 30, a national of Honduras, was indicted by a federal grand jury on June 20, 2023. A jury found Palma guilty on March 2, 2026. According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Palma possessed more than two kilograms of methamphetamine and more than 200 grams of a mixture containing fentanyl along with other controlled substances, a firearm, and ammunition. These items were discovered during an April 11, 2023 search by Oakland police at Palma’s residence where multiple children including two minors under the age of ten were present.
Oakland Police Department officers searched Palma’s residence after he was identified as a suspect in a violent home invasion involving masked individuals who forced entry into an Oakland home and pistol-whipped two victims. Evidence from Palma’s cell phone and social media account implicated him in the pistol-whipping incident and indicated that he had been dealing drugs in Oakland and San Francisco’s Tenderloin district for at least seven months prior to his arrest by federal law enforcement.
United States Attorney Craig H. Missakian and DEA Special Agent in Charge Bob P. Beris made the announcement regarding the sentencing.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Tigar imposed a five-year period of supervised release on Palma. The defendant was immediately remanded into custody following sentencing.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jared Buszin and Emily Dahlke prosecuted the case with assistance from Kevin Costello as part of an investigation conducted by the DEA along with the Oakland Police Department and San Francisco Police Department.
The U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California serves nearly nine million residents across fifteen counties from Del Norte to Monterey; it prosecutes federal crimes such as this case while also handling civil litigation aimed at safeguarding residents using facilities like those located in San Francisco’s Phillip Burton Federal Building or Oakland’s Federal Courthouse; it is part of the United States Department of Justice supporting community wellness through victim assistance programs, according to its official website.