Results in Newest Felon Possession of Firearm and Drug Trafficking Case

WCDA Secures Lengthy Sentence in Regional Narcotics Unit Arrest

The Washoe County District Attorney’s Office has announced that Gregory Shawn Walter Thomas Sargent, age  41, from Washoe County has been sentenced to a maximum term of 26 years in prison with parole eligibility set to begin after a minimum of 7 years 4 months has been served for charges related to drug trafficking and firearms.  Sargent pled guilty in June to one count of Being a Felon in Possession of a Firearm and one count of Trafficking in a Schedule I Controlled Substance, 100 grams or more.    

Sargent was arrested last December by detectives with the Regional Narcotics Unit (RNU) following an investigation into reported sales of narcotics and possession of firearms.  Following initial contact with Sargent, RNU detectives located more than a pound of methamphetamine and powdered fentanyl, and multiple handguns, as well as evidence of drug sales such as scales, and packaging materials.

At sentencing, Deputy District Attorney Michael Vieta-Kabell argued that Sargent’s possession of significant amounts of narcotics and deadly weapons was incredibly dangerous and noted that in a recent report by the Washoe County Medical Examiner’s Office, methamphetamine contributed to 69 overdose deaths with fentanyl contributing to another 41 in just a six-month period. Mr. Vieta-Kabell urged the court to sentence Sargent to the 26 years in light of this serious risk to the community as well as Sargent’s lengthy criminal history.