Omaha Man Convicted of Possessing Crack with the Intent to Distribute

Acting United States Attorney Jan W. Sharp announced that a federal jury in Omaha, Nebraska, returned a guilty verdict today against Skyler F. Sanders, age 34, of Omaha, for Possession with Intent to Distribute 28 Grams or More of a Mixture or Substance Containing Cocaine Base (Crack). As a result of this conviction, Sanders is facing a mandatory minimum sentence of 5 years imprisonment and a maximum possible sentence of 40 years. There is no parole in the federal system. Senior United States District Judge Joseph F. Bataillon presided over the 3-day trial. Judge Bataillon scheduled sentencing for August 16, 2021, at 1:00 PM.

On October 3, 2019, law enforcement officers with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, and the Omaha Police Department were conducting surveillance of Sanders’s residence in Omaha. Law enforcement had search warrants for Sanders’s DNA and cellular phone for a separate investigation. When law enforcement attempted to make contact with Sanders, Sanders ran from them and during the short foot pursuit, a special agent saw Sanders reach into his pocket and then throw something. Sanders fell as he was going over a chain link fence and surrendered to law enforcement. Officers searched the vicinity of where Sanders was seen throwing something and found a bag of powder cocaine and a bag of crack cocaine over a wood privacy fence about 5-10 feet from where Sanders was seen throwing something. These items were collected and found to be a little over 17 grams of powder cocaine and a little over 30 grams of crack cocaine. The crack cocaine was packaged in 9 separate individual bags.

This case was investigated by the Omaha Police Department, the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, and the Federal Bureau of Investigations.