Armed Honduran National Who Sold Drugs in East Oakland and the Tenderloin Sentenced to Sixteen Years in Prison
OAKLAND – Maxfer Palma was sentenced Friday to 192 months in federal prison for one count each 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. On March 2, 2026, a jury found Palma guilty of the drug trafficking and firearms offenses for which he was sentenced. According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Palma possessed more than 2 kilograms of methamphetamine, more than 200 grams of a mixture containing fentanyl, other various controlled substances, a firearm, and ammunition. These items were found on April 11, 2023, when Oakland police searched Palma’s residence, where multiple children including two minors who appeared to be under the age of 10, were present.
Oakland Police Department officers searched Palma’s residence on April 11, 2023, after he was identified as a suspect in a violent home invasion in which multiple masked individuals forced their way into an Oakland residence and pistol-whipped two victims. A search of Palma’s cell phone and social media account uncovered evidence implicating Palma in the pistol-whipping. That evidence also showed Palma had been dealing drugs in Oakland and the Tenderloin of San Francisco 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.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Tigar also sentenced the defendant to a five-year period of supervised release. The defendant was immediately remanded into custody.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jared Buszin and Emily Dahlke prosecuted the case with the assistance of Kevin Costello. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the DEA, the Oakland Police Department, and the San Francisco Police Department.
