A Reno man has been given 16 years in prison, after he pled guilty to Trafficking 100 Grams or More of Fentanyl and Being a Felon in Possession of a Firearm. Darrel Beal was sentenced to 4-10 years and 1-6 years respectively, to run consecutively for a total of 5-16 years.
In a joint operation by the Reno Police and Sparks Police through the Regional Crime Suppression Unit (RCSU), detectives began investigating Beal in August of last year for selling fentanyl in the community, as well as illegally owning guns. Over three weeks in September, law enforcement conducted controlled drug purchases from Beal using a confidential informant. Following the drug buys, detectives got a search warrant for Beal’s home, where he was arrested on September 22, 2025. The search uncovered a total of 343.25 grams of fentanyl, 21.88 grams of Psilocybin, 6.4 grams of heroin, 0.9 grams of cocaine, and five vials of liquid anabolic steroids. The weight of the fentanyl was equal to approximately 1,716,250 lethal doses. Several firearms were also found, which Beal cannot legally own as he is a felon.
At sentencing, Deputy District Attorney Michael Vieta-Kabell requested the 5-16 year sentence. In his statements to the Court, he pointed out that fentanyl trafficking and illegal firearms both represented serious threats to the safety of the citizens of Washoe County and asked the Court to issue the sentence to protect the community. The Honorable Kathleen Sigurdson presided and imposed the sentence.
