SAN FRANCISCO — A 50-year-old Mexican national unlawfully in the United States was sentenced to 48 months in federal prison for dealing methamphetamine while illegally possessing a loaded handgun and a shotgun in San Francisco’s Mission District, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California announced.

U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria handed down the sentence against Javier Velasquez Antunes, who pleaded guilty on March 10 to Distribution and Possession with Intent to Distribute a Mixture and Substance Containing Methamphetamine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(C), and Felon in Possession of Firearms and Ammunition, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1). A federal grand jury indicted Antunes on Nov. 12, 2025.

According to the plea agreement, Antunes admitted that on July 10, 2025, he and two others dealt methamphetamine on Mission Street. Officers from the San Francisco Police Department observed Antunes sell approximately one gram of methamphetamine from a parked car before apprehending him, two accomplices, and the buyer. The four men had at least twelve grams net weight of methamphetamine between them.

SFPD officers searched the car and found a loaded nine-millimeter handgun directly at the base of Antunes’s seat and a loaded twelve-gauge shotgun bearing his DNA in a violin case in the back seat. Police also recovered various rifle and shotgun ammunition from the vehicle. Antunes had prior state court convictions for Possession of a Controlled Substance While Armed and Felon in Possession of a Firearm — making him a repeat illegal-immigrant offender with a documented history of armed drug crime.

United States Attorney Craig H. Missakian, Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Bob P. Beris, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives Special Agent in Charge John Wester announced the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Eli J. Cohen prosecuted with the assistance of Soana Katoa.

In addition to the 48-month prison term, Judge Chhabria sentenced Antunes to a three-year period of supervised release and ordered forfeiture of money, a cellular phone, and the firearms and ammunition. Antunes was immediately remanded into custody. Federal authorities have not disclosed whether immigration removal proceedings under 8 U.S.C. § 1227 will follow the completion of his sentence.