Storage Wars stars Laura and Dan Dotson claim they feared for their lives over Darrell Sheets’ alleged cyberbullying before his tragic death at the age of 67.
“His family told us this has been going on for three years,” Laura told Us Weekly on Friday. “Cyberbullying is a real thing, even for strong men who think their feelings can’t be hurt. It made him feel bad and was really clearly bothering him. He feared for his life (and) for the people around him. He didn’t understand why he was being targeted.”
Sheets was found dead at his home in Lake Havasu City, Arizona, on Wednesday.
The business owner died from an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, according to a Lake Havasu Police Department press release.
Officials said Sheets was pronounced dead at the scene and his body was turned over to the Mohave County Coroner’s Office for “further investigation.”
“He had other things going on,” continued Laura, who appeared on the hit A&E show with husband Dan and Sheets before retiring in 2023.
She added that “his health and certain things” may also have “contributed” to his death.
“He had his ups and downs with relationships and love, but he was just a wonderful, loving man who really, truly believed in God,” Laura elaborated.
The couple also reflected on the loss of another friend to suicide, and Dunn recalled that Sheets was in disbelief.
“He said, ‘I can’t believe someone can do that,'” Laura recalled. “They must be suffering a lot.” So it was very difficult for us to really believe that this happened. ”
According to Us Weekly, Sheets spoke out about the cyberbullying allegations in a Facebook post weeks before his death.
“I was hacked by a very evil person,” he wrote in March. “It’s a clown.[The post]wasn’t made by me. It was made by very evil people. I’m not gay. I’ve never posted about children’s arcade owners or anything like that. I’m very disappointed and sick about this.”
Sheets said it wasn’t him, but “people are showing up” in his work who “want to do harm” to him.
“The police know this, but because Facebook is allowing this, their hands are tied and it’s very egregious,” he wrote.
The TV personality’s “cyberbullying stalker” reportedly also harassed other people in the area.
“He was using my name to go after and harass other small businesses in town,” Sheets claimed. “Not me! He has been extorting money from many people in this town like a handyman. This has been going on with him for three years and his comments are extremely harmful. This is a felony called cyberbullying.”
“We are aware of these cyberbullying allegations and this is part of an active investigation,” Sergeant Kyle Ridgway, a spokesperson for the Lake Havasu, Arizona, Police Department, told Page Six on Wednesday.
Before his death, Mr. Sheets retired to Arizona and ran an antique shop, Havasu Show Me Your Junk.
The A&E star was a fan favorite on the show “Storage Wars,” which follows professional buyers bidding on unknown content found in abandoned storage units.
Sheets appeared in 163 episodes of the series from 2010 to 2023, along with his son Brandon.
During the series, he was given the nickname “The Gambler” due to his tendency to overbid units based on instinct.
