Omaha Man Sentenced to 81 Months for Selling a Defaced Gun and Pills Containing Methamphetamine

United States Attorney Jan Sharp announced that Darrell L. Thompson, 23, of Omaha, Nebraska, was sentenced today in federal court in Omaha for Distribution of Methamphetamine and Carrying a Firearm In Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime.  Chief United States District Judge Robert F. Rossiter, Jr. sentenced Thompson to 21 months’ imprisonment for the distribution offense to be followed by imprisonment for 60 months for the firearms crime.  There is no parole in the federal system.  After his release from prison, he will begin a 3-year term of supervised release.

On November 19, 2019, investigators conducted a controlled purchase of 11.5 “ecstasy” pills from Thompson. A second controlled purchase on December 13, 2019 yielded 9.5 “ecstasy” pills. A final controlled purchase on December 20, 2019 yielded 10 “ecstasy” pills from Thompson, in addition to a defaced firearm, a Cobra FS380 .380 caliber handgun. Laboratory analysis revealed that the “ecstasy” pills obtained from Thompson during each purchase contained methamphetamine. Ecstasy (MDMA) is a wholly different drug of abuse than methamphetamine, although both are derivatives of amphetamine.

At the time of Thompson’s arrest on February 1, 2021, the Grand Jury in the District of Nebraska had already returned an Indictment charging Thompson with offenses relating to the controlled purchases made during the last quarter of 2019. The Indictment was kept under seal until Thompson was located and arrested.

On February 1, 2021, Omaha Police detectives stopped a white, Chevy Impala bearing Iowa license plates for a traffic violation. The traffic violation occurred at N. 35th Street and Redman Avenue in Omaha.  A data check of the backseat occupant, Thompson, revealed an active warrant for his arrest stemming from the prior Grand Jury Indictment. Officers removed Thompson and a search of his person revealed two defaced firearms in his waistband.

Investigators then obtained and executed a warrant at defendant’s residence in Omaha. The search yielded three additional firearms, one of which was reported stolen. 

This case was 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 make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. The Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally based strategies to reduce violent crime.

This case was investigated by the Omaha Police Department. and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.