Honduran national convicted of drug-trafficking in Bay Area

OAKLAND – A 29-year-old Honduran national caught with more than two kilograms of methamphetamine and fentanyl at an Oakland apartment where children lived has been convicted of drug-trafficking offenses, federal prosecutors said.

Following a five-day trial, a jury on Monday found Maxfer Palma guilty on 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 and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

The jury, however, acquitted Palma on one count of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine in connection with an incident in San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood.

The drugs were stored inside a pair of backpacks at Palma’s apartment, prosecutors said.

One was hidden in a laundry hamper in Palma’s bedroom closet. It contained more than 400 grams of methamphetamine, 200-plus grams of a mixture containing fentanyl, other controlled substances and digital scales. A loaded gun was found in the same pack.

The other backpack was concealed in a dog crate with a small dog in the living room. It contained four bricks of methamphetamine weighing more than 1,700 grams.

Prosecutors said multiple children, including two who appeared to be under the age of 10, were present at the apartment just before Oakland police officers searched it and found the backpacks.

Evidence presented at the trial included text messages from Palma’s phone, which prosecutors said showed he sold fentanyl, methamphetamine and other narcotics in East Oakland and the Tenderloin over a period of seven months spanning 2022 and 2023.

“We will continue to aggressively prosecute dealers who poison our communities with these dangerous substances,” U.S. Attorney Craig H. Missakian said in a statement Tuesday.

“The defendant’s decisions to store deadly drugs and a firearm in a home where multiple children live showed a callous disregard for human life,” Missakian continued. “We thank the jury for bringing him to account for his inexcusable actions.”

Palma faces 10 years to life in prison and a $10 million fine for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and five to 40 years in prison and a $5 million fine for possession with intent to distribute fentanyl.

In addition, Palma will serve a mandatory consecutive sentence of five years in prison for possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime and a mandatory consecutive sentence of no more than 20 years in prison for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine on premises where children were present.

Prosecutors said Palma’s sentencing hearing is slated for July 17. He is in federal custody.