OMAHA, NE – Clifford Wright III, 36, of Omaha, is facing a long stretch behind bars after a federal judge slammed him with a 220-month sentence on September 10, 2025. Wright, a documented member of the 29th Street Bloods, was convicted of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, possessing a firearm during a drug crime, and being a felon in possession of a firearm. The sentence, handed down by Chief United States District Judge Robert F. Rossiter, Jr., carries no possibility of parole.
The conviction stemmed from a chaotic scene unfolding on October 31, 2022, at a busy north Omaha gas station. Surveillance footage captured Wright conducting apparent hand-to-hand drug transactions from his vehicle. The situation escalated when shots rang out across the crowded parking lot. Wright, brandishing a handgun, exited his car, but the weapon malfunctioned or failed to fire. Omaha Police Department officers, familiar with Wright from prior investigations, quickly identified him as a known gang member.
This wasn’t Wright’s first rodeo. A jury found him guilty on June 6, 2025, following a seven-day trial. The evidence presented revealed a pattern of criminal behavior. A subsequent search of Wright’s safe, executed with a warrant on November 2, 2022, unearthed a chilling arsenal: approximately 850 fentanyl pills and three loaded handguns. One of those handguns, a 9mm, matched the one he attempted to fire at the gas station and was the only weapon with a round chambered. Two of the seized firearms were confirmed as stolen, one taken during a burglary of a local federal firearms licensee.
Federal investigators didn’t stop at the gas station incident. A forensic examination of Wright’s cell phone revealed a drug dealing operation that stretched back to February 2022, just a month after his release from a previous federal prison sentence. Text messages indicated he wasn’t limiting himself to fentanyl; he was also peddling cocaine, ecstasy, and marijuana. Adding to his woes, Judge Rossiter tacked on an additional 23 months for violating his supervised release from a 2021 conviction for – you guessed it – illegal firearm possession.
United States Attorney Lesley A. Woods made it clear this case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a multi-agency effort aimed at curbing violent crime and gun violence. The program focuses on building trust within communities, supporting violence prevention organizations, and prioritizing strategic enforcement. This sentencing serves as a stark warning: bringing poison like fentanyl onto the streets, combined with firearms, will be met with the full force of the law.
Following his prison term, Wright will face a five-year period of supervised release. Whether this will be enough to keep him from returning to his old ways remains to be seen, but for now, the streets of Omaha are a little safer. The investigation was spearheaded by the Omaha Police Department, with crucial firearms expertise provided by a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agent.
Related Federal Cases
- Omaha Drug Kingpin Walter O’Donohue III Gets 15-Year Sentence for Fentanyl Smuggling · Iowa
- Omaha Narc Boss Gets 15 Years for Fentanyl Ring · Nebraska
- Omaha Fentanyl Dealer Chuol Gets Over 8 Years · Nebraska
- Omaha Teen Gets 9+ Years for Deadly Fentanyl Scheme · Nebraska
- Omaha Felon Craddock Gets 3+ Years for Gun Possession · Nebraska
Key Facts
- State: Nebraska
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Violent Crime|Organized Crime|Weapons
- Source: Official Source ↗
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