35-Year-Old Omaha Man and Registered Sex Offender Sentenced in Armed Crime Spree

Acting United States Attorney Susan Lehr announced that Cordell R. Bridgeman, 35, of Omaha, Nebraska, was sentenced on September 28, 2023, in federal court in Omaha by Chief United States District Judge Robert F. Rossiter, Jr. to 238 months' imprisonment. On June 23, 2023, Bridgeman pled guilty to two counts of interference with commerce by robbery and two weapons charges for brandishing firearms during and in relation to the two-armed robberies.  After his release from prison, Bridgeman will begin a four-year term of supervised release.  There is no parole in the federal system.

An investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Omaha Police Department determined that on September 18, 2020, Bridgeman, wearing a blue hoodie with the hood up, a light blue surgical mask, and dark pants, entered the Speedee Mart located at 100 West Centennial Road, Papillion, Nebraska. Bridgeman walked to the cooler and selected a beverage. Bridgeman proceeded to the register and requested a pack of "Diamond Swisher" cigars. When the employee requested identification to purchase the cigarettes, Bridgeman pulled out a gun and set it on the counter and demanded money from the register. The employee removed the drawer from the register. Bridgeman told the employee that she had five seconds to place the contents of the drawer in a plastic bag.

That same day, Bridgeman robbed the Walgreens located at 3001 Dodge Street, in Omaha, Nebraska.  Bridgeman approached a Walgreens employee working the counter and asked where hand sanitizer was located. When the employee went to scan the hand sanitizer, she saw that Bridgeman had a gun pointed at her at waist level in his right hand. Bridgeman told the employee to give him "Everything in the drawer" and "No funny business." The employee was having a hard time opening the register, and Bridgeman started counting backwards from three to one. The employee placed all the money that was in the register on the counter. Bridgeman grabbed the money, stuffed it in his pocket, and left the store.

At sentencing, the government argued Bridgeman used excessive violence during the commission of these robberies.  The government further informed the court that Bridgeman was a registered sex offender at the time he committed the armed robberies. He updated his sex offender registry with Sarpy Country on the same day he committed the robberies, in the same clothing.  That evidence, along with the cooperation of several brave eyewitnesses, helped to secure the convictions in this case.

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