Registered sex offender sentenced to 13 1/2 years for Savannah carjacking

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - A Savannah man identified in jail records as a registered sex offender has been sentenced to 13½ years in federal prison for an armed carjacking outside a West Bay Street restaurant.

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Donald Palmer, 42, pleaded guilty to carjacking and using and carrying a firearm during a crime of violence. U.S. District Court Chief Judge R. Stan Baker sentenced him to 162 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Georgia.

According to court documents and testimony, Palmer carjacked a woman at gunpoint in the parking lot of Nancy’s Seafood in December 2025. The victim gave responding Savannah police officers a description of Palmer and information about her vehicle.

While officers were investigating, police received another call reporting that the stolen vehicle had crashed. Prosecutors say Palmer tried to flee before officers arrived, but a good Samaritan helped police apprehend him a short distance from the vehicle.

Officers found the firearm used in the carjacking inside the vehicle. Restaurant surveillance video also showed Palmer using the gun to carjack the victim before speeding away, according to prosecutors.

“Violent crime has no place in our communities, and this sentence ensures a dangerous individual is removed from our streets,” U.S. Attorney Margaret E. “Meg” Heap said.

Heap credited Savannah police and the good Samaritan with helping officers quickly apprehend Palmer.

The FBI, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and Savannah Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Makeia R. Jonese prosecuted it.