SPRINGFIELD, MO. — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (USAO - Missouri, Western), published as received.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Springfield, Mo. man was sentenced in federal court yesterday for being an unlawful user of a controlled substance while in possession of firearms.

Jayden Lamar Wright, 21, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Megan Blair Benton to 84 months in federal prison without parole and three years of supervised release. Wright pleaded guilty to two counts of unlawfully possessing firearms as a user of a controlled substance on April 9, 2026. 

On Feb. 22, 2024, an agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) conducted a search of Wright’s vehicle after it was present at the scene of a double homicide and seized four semi-automatic pistols belonging to Wright. Wright admitted that he was an active user of marijuana. 

On March 8, 2024, ATF agents observed Wright carrying a 9mm pistol with an extended magazine as he entered a gun show in Springfield. An undercover ATF agent approached Wright and negotiated the purchase of the 9mm pistol and a magazine. Investigators later observed Wright purchasing a new semi-automatic pistol and extended magazine at the gun show. That firearm was seized during a traffic stop along with a third firearm that Wright had purchased at the gun show. 

A year later, police approached Wright in connection with another investigation. Wright fled but was detained shortly thereafter and was found to be carrying another firearm. 

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alfredo De La Rosa and Jessica Eatmon.  It was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Greene County, Missouri Sheriff’s Office, and the Springfield, Missouri Police Department.

Project Safe Neighborhoods

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.