James William Palmer Gets 37 Months for Gun Trafficking

James William Palmer, a 38-year-old from Mill Valley, California, is headed to federal prison for 37 months after pleading guilty to dealing firearms without a license. U.S. Attorney Stephanie M. Hinds and ATF Acting Special Agent in Charge Joshua E. Jackson announced the sentence, handed down by U.S. District Judge James Donato in San Francisco.

Palmer admitted in his August 15, 2022 plea agreement that from May 2020 to January 2021, he ran an illegal firearms business out of his Mill Valley home. He set up a manufacturing area in his garage stocked with tools, parts, and unfinished receivers. He sold guns for profit, fully aware that operating without a federal firearms license was a felony. He also admitted to selling marijuana during the same period.

The operation was methodical. Palmer used text messages to negotiate prices, arrange meetups, and track payments. A whiteboard in his garage listed customer names, phone numbers, and balances owed. One transaction detailed in court documents was the October 2020 sale of a Glock 17 semi-automatic pistol for $780. His texts revealed urgency: “What about getting that 17 so I can resume business? I got 6 people waiting.”

On January 27, 2021, the day of his arrest, Palmer was stopped with a loaded Glock Model 26 .45 ACP in his car, two loaded magazines in the center console, and extra ammo in his pocket. He’d bought the handgun for $900 at a gun show, paying a premium to skip paperwork and walk away with it immediately. That same day, authorities discovered multiple unfinished firearm receivers and a loaded P80 .45 caliber Glock-style handgun in his garage.

During the investigation, the government recovered 71 items tied to firearms manufacturing and sales. Among them: PMF jigs, Glock parts, high-capacity magazines, tools, and a Glock frame with its serial number removed. Texts revealed Palmer claimed to have been trafficking firearms “for 20 years off and on” in Marin County—proof of a long-running underground trade.

In addition to 37 months in prison, Judge Donato ordered three years of supervised release. Palmer was ordered to surrender on February 6, 2023. Prosecutors Ilham A. Hosseini and Alexis J. James, with assistance from Maribel Gallegos, secured the conviction after a joint probe by the ATF and Marin County Sheriff’s Office. The case is part of the DOJ’s Cross-Jurisdictional Firearms Trafficking Strike Force in the San Francisco Bay Area, targeting illegal gun networks across state lines.