PENSACOLA, Fla. — A 33-year-old Escondido, California man described by prosecutors as a large-volume drug dealer has been sentenced to 17.5 years in federal prison for his role in a multi-year methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy that reached Pensacola.
Manuel Alejandro Palomino-Amador, also known as “Ichi,” was sentenced after previously pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine and 500 grams or more of a mixture containing methamphetamine.
Palomino was the last defendant sentenced in a drug conspiracy case that spanned several years and resulted in the conviction of 15 defendants.
Authorities said Palomino supplied co-defendant Phillip Martin, who distributed methamphetamine and fentanyl to co-conspirator Ohagee Curry in Pensacola, according to the report.
The rrepporft states on Aug. 17, 2022, law enforcement officers stopped Martin on Interstate 15 in southern California after surveilling a drug deal between Palomino and Martin.
Officers recovered 77 pounds of methamphetamine from Martin’s vehicle. Later that day, law enforcement searched a storage unit belonging to Palomino and found another 80 pounds of methamphetamine and more than 4,000 grams of fentanyl, according to the report.
Martin, who authorities said had a significant criminal history, received a 40-year sentence in 2024. Curry received a 10-year sentence in 2025. Palomino was arrested late last year while crossing the border between Mexico and the United States.
The conviction and sentence followed a joint investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office, the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office, the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Escondido Police Department and the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office, with assistance from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.