'Storage Wars' star Darrell Sheets' puzzling final deal left friends uneasy before his death, castmate says
This story discusses suicide. If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please contact the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
A puzzling deal in Darrell Sheets' final days has raised new questions after the "Storage Wars" star died by suicide.
A longtime associate who appeared on the A&E reality TV show recalled an uncharacteristic moment that, in hindsight, felt like Sheets "was tying up his affairs."
"It wasn’t the buying and selling that was odd. It was really the interaction," "Storage Wars" star Dusty Riach told Us Weekly. "Because Darrell is not the type of person to just roll over on an offer. He was a fighter for the last dollar in any deal. And he was asking a pretty substantial amount of money for a deal that one of my friends was buying from him. And then my friend kind of shot him quite a large deficit off of what he was asking. And Darrell just was like, ‘Yeah, that’s great.’"
'STORAGE WARS' STAR DARRELL SHEETS WAS 'TERRIFIED FOR HIS LIFE' BEFORE HIS DEATH, CO-STAR CLAIMS
"My friend was just like, ‘That’s kind of weird,’ but didn’t think anything of it at the time. For Darrell not to come back at you, it’s just kind of weird. I had no idea, and my friend hadn’t told me until after we found out what happened [to Sheets]. My friend said that it felt like he was tying up his affairs," Riach said, adding that Sheets even called him to ensure the check would clear.
Riach said the gap between Sheets’ asking price and what he ultimately accepted only deepened the sense that something was off.
"I think Darrell was asking $125,000 and my friend gave him $50,000 [for an estate collection]," he added. "For him to ask that much and then my friend to offer him that — [without Darrell saying] give me $60,000, or like, pushing for an extra five grand … Darrell said yep, that’s fine.
"Even the last watch deal I did with Darrell, we were bickering over like, $50 with each other. So I would say this was 110 percent fully out of character for him."
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Fox News Digital confirmed Sheets died by suicide at 67.
Lake Havasu City police responded to a call regarding a deceased individual on April 22, according to a press release provided to Fox News Digital. Upon arrival, officers found a male with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.
Sheets was pronounced dead at the scene, and his death is still under active investigation.
Shortly after the news of Sheets' death, his "Storage Wars" co-star, Rene Nezhoda, uploaded a video to Instagram, claiming his friend was being cyberbullied online. "Darrell has been posting a lot about the guy that’s been cyberbullying him and tormenting him, and I really hope [law enforcement] look into that guy, and it’s just not a pass," Nezhoda said in the video.
Sergeant Kyle Ridgway, public information officer for the Lake Havasu City Police Department, told Fox News Digital, "We are aware of these cyberbullying accusations, and that is a part of the active investigation."
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Sheets was "terrified for his life" in the years before his death as he dealt with alleged cyberbullying, according to "Storage Wars" star Laura Dotson.
"His family told us that this has been happening for three years," Dotson, who appears on the show with her husband, Dan Dotson, told Us Weekly. "[It happens to] even strong men that you think aren’t gonna get their feelings hurt. Cyberbullying is a real thing. This made him feel less than, and it really obviously bothered him.
"He was terrified for his life [and] for the people around him. He didn’t know why he was being targeted."
Sheets' health and other issues could have contributed to his death, Dotson claimed.
"He had other things also," she said. "His health and certain things that might have contributed to [his death]. Relationships, love interests and stuff that would go up and down, but [he] truly, truly was a wonderful, loving person who believed in God."
Sheets became famous as a main buyer on "Storage Wars," a reality show that follows bidders competing to buy abandoned storage units. He appeared in more than 160 episodes, starting in 2010.
He earned the nickname "The Gambler" during his time on the show due to his high-risk bids on storage units.
Fox News Digital's Janelle Ash contributed to this report.