Jury Convicts Omaha Gang Member of Fentanyl and Firearm Charges

United States Attorney Lesley A. Woods announced that a federal jury in Omaha, Nebraska, returned guilty verdicts on June 6, 2025, against Clifford Wright III, 35, of Omaha, for three charges - possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and felon in possession of a firearm. The verdicts followed a seven-day trial in front of Chief United States District Judge Robert F. Rossiter, Jr. Judge Rossiter scheduled sentencing for August 29, 2025. Wright faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison.

The evidence at trial established Wright, a documented member of the 29th Street Bloods in Omaha, arrived at a gas station in north Omaha around "bar close" time on October 31, 2022. Shortly after Wright arrived, the parking lot filled with vehicles. Multiple people approached Wright's vehicle for apparent hand-to-hand transactions. After Wright loitered in the parking lot for approximately 13 minutes making the apparent hand-to-hand transactions, shots erupted toward the crowded parking lot from across the street. Wright exited his vehicle holding a handgun, but his handgun appeared to malfunction or not fire. The shooters fled in a car, and Wright drove after them into a neighborhood.

Omaha police responded to the gas station, finding no gunshot victims but approximately 60 shell casings in the area. Detectives with the firearms and gang intelligence units reviewed surveillance footage from the gas station. They 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 a conviction for which he was on supervised release at the time.

Wright was arrested on November 2, 2022. After being booked into Douglas County Jail, Wright made phone calls about a "box." The "box" was located and turned out to be a Sentry safe. Search of the safe 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's drug customers would inquire about "blues" and "30s," which are terms describing illicit "M30" fentanyl pills. Wright appeared to also be selling cocaine, ecstasy, other 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.