Lincoln Man Sentenced to 78 Months’ Imprisonment for Possession of Ammunition

Acting United States Attorney Matthew R. Molsen announced that Derrick Conley, 23, of Lincoln, Nebraska, was sentenced on May 1, 2025, in federal court in Lincoln, Nebraska for being a felon in possession of ammunition. United Stated District Court Judge Susan M. Bazis sentenced Conley to 78 months’ imprisonment. There is no parole in the federal system. After Conley’s release from prison, he will begin a 3-year term of supervised release.

On June 11, 2024, officers with the Lincoln Police Department responded to a report of an ongoing disturbance in Lincoln. Derrick Conley was one of the persons involved. Witnesses reported that during the argument, Conley lifted his shirt revealing a handgun tucked into his waistband. Conley then placed the firearm in the car in which he had arrived to the scene. Officers found the firearm in the vehicle. It was a “polymer 80” handgun or “ghost gun,” which is a firearm that is manufactured by the buyer and not required to have a serial number if the person who manufactures the firearm does not transfer it to another person. When the officers examined the gun, they found no serial number on the handgun. The handgun was found with an extended magazine inserted into it, and it was equipped with a machinegun conversion device, which is colloquially known as a “Glock switch.” The firearm was also found loaded with 9mm ammunition.

Conley had been previously convicted of attempted possession of a deadly weapon by a prohibited person in the District Court of Douglas County, Nebraska on June 22, 2022. He had also been previously convicted of theft by unlawful taking of items valued between $1,500, and $5,000, in the District Court of Douglas County, Nebraska on April 6, 2021. Each of those offenses were punishable by a term of imprisonment of more than a year.

The investigation was conducted by the Lincoln Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. 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.