Omaha Gang Member Sentenced to 220 Months for Fentanyl and Firearm Crimes

United States Attorney Lesley A. Woods announced that Clifford Wright III, 36, of Omaha, Nebraska, was sentenced on September 10, 2025, in federal court in Omaha for possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and felon in possession of a firearm. Chief United States District Judge Robert F. Rossiter, Jr. sentenced Wright to a total of 197 months' imprisonment. There is no parole in the federal system. After Wright's release from prison, he will begin a 5-year term of supervised release. Chief Judge Rossiter also sentenced Wright to a consecutive 23 months' imprisonment for violating his supervised release from a 2021 conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm.

A jury convicted Wright of the three charges on June 6, 2025, after a seven-day trial. The evidence at trial established Wright, a documented member of the 29th Street Bloods in Omaha, who was observed on surveillance footage at a crowded gas station in north Omaha on October 31, 2022, making apparent hand-to-hand drug transactions from his vehicle. Shots erupted toward the crowded parking lot from across the street and Wright exited his vehicle holding a handgun, but his handgun appeared to malfunction or not fire.

Omaha police identified Wright based upon prior investigations and their knowledge of Wright as a gang member. Wright has two prior convictions in federal court for illegal firearm possession, including the conviction for which he was on supervised release at the time.

Wright was arrested on November 2, 2022. A search of a safe belonging to Wright pursuant to a warrant uncovered approximately 850 fentanyl pills and three loaded handguns, including a 9mm handgun that was visually consistent with the handgun Wright tried to fire at the gas station on October 31, 2022. The 9mm was the only handgun from the safe that had a round in the chamber. Two of the handguns had been reported stolen, including one stolen from the inventory of a federal firearms licensee in Omaha during a burglary.

Review of extracted data from Wright's cell phone showed that he had been dealing drugs dating back to February 2022, the month after he was most recently released from federal prison. Wright appeared to also be selling cocaine, ecstasy pills, and marijuana, based upon his text messages.

This case was investigated by the Omaha Police Department. An agent from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives also testified as a firearms expert at trial. This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.