Brandon Sheets thanked the beloved TV personality known as “The Gambler” for “raising me to be the man I am today.”

Son of *Storage Wars *star Darrell Sheets shares emotional birthday tribute weeks after father’s sudden death

Brandon Sheets thanked the beloved TV personality known as "The Gambler" for "raising me to be the man I am today."

By Ryan Coleman

Ryan Coleman

Ryan Coleman is a news writer for with previous work in MUBI Notebook, Slant, and the LA Review of Books.

EW's editorial guidelines

May 13, 2026 11:12 p.m. ET

Leave a Comment

Brandon Sheets and Darrell Sheets in Tustin, Calif., in 2012. Credit:

Albert L. Ortega/Getty

- Brandon Sheets paid tribute to his father, *Storage Wars *star Darrell Sheets, in an emotional birthday post shared to his Instagram.

- "Thank you for raising me to be the man I am today," he wrote in the caption of a compilation of shots of the father-son duo. "Wish that I could spend just one more day with you."

- Darrell was found dead at an Arizona residence on April 22. Local authorities are investigating cyberbullying allegations connected to his death.

Brandon Sheets is making time to celebrate his father, *Storage Wars** *star Darrell Sheets, even amidst tragedy.

Darrell was found dead in a Lake Havasu, Ariz., residence on April 22. He was just three weeks shy of turning 68. On Wednesday, Brandon, who appeared alongside Darrell on the A&E reality series for years, shared a heartbreaking birthday tribute to his dad.

"Happy Birthday," he wrote. "Thank you for raising me to be the man I am today... wish that I could spend just one more day with you. I love you dad and Happy Birthday." Brandon concluded by writing out the dates of Darrell's birth and death: "5/13/1958 to 4/22/2026."

Brandon's emotional caption accompanied a video montage set to the ZZ Top song "Just Got Paid," which includes lyrics like, "I was born my papa's son, / When I hit the ground, I was on the run."

The montage included shots of Darrell, his kids, and his grandkids throughout the years, posing for pictures at diners, floating out on lakes, and getting dressed up for formal occasions.

"Happy Birthday Dad I love you," Brandon wrote over one of the shots; "Rest now pop," he wrote over the final solo image of Darrell on his boat.

Brandon Sheets with his father, Darrell Sheets.

Brandon Sheets/Instagram

Darrell was initially pronounced dead "from what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head," the Lake Havasu Police Department stated in a release on April 22.

In the days following Darrell's death, fans began to recover the reality star's public comments about his struggles with mental health over the years.

"Depression is the Devil's way of attacking us, it knows no mercy, it takes our smiles," he wrote in a 2018 social media post. "It comes and goes, it ruins our relationships, it takes away our happiness, it leads to suicide in some cases, it destroys all thoughts of positivity."

***Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our ******EW Dispatch newsletter******.***

But other, more disturbing circumstances surrounding Darrell's death began to come to light at the same time. *Storage Wars* star Rene Nezhoda claimed in an April 25 interviewer that Darrell was enduring a torrent of cyberbullying leading up to his death. that "He was impersonating him with phone calls, messages, emails, websites... He flat out said, 'I'm gonna ruin you.'"

Nezhoda said of the unnamed social media user allegedly harassing Sheets in an interview with *Us Weekly* published on Friday, days after police confirmed to ** that they are looking into allegations that the reality TV star had been bullied online.

Police investigation of 'Storage Wars' star Darrell Sheets' death includes cyberbullying accusations

'Storage Wars' star Darrell Sheets opened up about depression 8 years before his death

Police confirmed to * *that they are including cyberbullying allegations as part of the "active investigation" into Darrell's death.

Darrell himself chronicled his fight against the alleged cyberbully on Facebook, claiming on March 9 that he'd been "hacked by a very evil person," who made posts in Darrell's name that left him "extremely sorry and sick over this."

*If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), text "STRENGTH" to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 or go to **suicidepreventionlifeline.org**.*

- Celebrities & Creators

- Celebrity Death Tributes

Original Article on Source

Source: “EW Celebrity”