In the continuing crackdown on drug trafficking within San Francisco's Tenderloin district, Honduran national Maria Valle-Rodriguez, 47, has been sentenced to over 11 years in federal prison. According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office, Valle-Rodriguez was found guilty of multiple drug-related charges, including the distribution of fentanyl and methamphetamine.
Details from the case reveal that Valle-Rodriguez engaged in a concerted effort, alongside her co-defendants – Emilson Valle-Zuniga, 33, and Jonsan Valle-Rodriguez, 31 – to outright sell narcotics in both the Tenderloin and Oakland. She, admitting to her role in the sales, received the longest sentence among the trio, with Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley assigning a 135-month prison term on June 11. Her co-defendants were sentenced to lesser terms of 42 and 24 months, respectively, following their guilty pleas on similar charges.
Reports indicate that the defendants lived together in an Oakland apartment, which doubled as a base of operations for their illicit activities. During a search warrant executed on December 12, 2023, law enforcement officers discovered substantial drug quantities, including approximately eight pounds of fentanyl, two pounds of methamphetamine, and over $127,000 in cash. The presence of a minor child in the apartment where Maria Valle-Rodriguez resided added a grim layer to the case.
Despite her incarceration, Valle-Rodriguez had been previously released from custody to seek medical care freely. However, a subsequent arrest on April 29, 2025, for her involvement in another drug trafficking operation suggests a pattern of entrenched criminal behavior. In addition to her prison sentence, she is ordered to serve a four-year term of supervised release, while her accomplices will each complete a three-year supervised term after their release.
U.S. Attorney Craig H. Missakian, alongside DEA Special Agent in Charge Bob P. Beris, underscored the significance of the convictions, highlighting their role in disrupting the flow of dangerous drugs like fentanyl into local communities. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ivana Djak led the prosecution, aided by Lance Libatique and Gabriel Flesher, in what has been a pointed response to the drug crisis in the Bay Area.
