Whatley and Hayes were booked in Washoe County on felony narcotics charges after a Reno traffic stop.

A jail booking on felony narcotics charges is an accusation, not a conviction. KOLO and FOX Reno reported that detectives with the Regional Narcotics Unit, with help from the Washoe County Sheriff's Office K9 Unit, arrested Whatley, 39, and Hayes, 39, during a traffic stop in Reno on Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026. The outlets reported the stop as part of an ongoing investigation into the sale and distribution of illicit narcotics. An investigation and a booking are how a drug case starts. They are not findings that either person sold anything.

KOLO reported that authorities said they found around 424 grams of fentanyl and 229 grams of methamphetamine, and two handguns they said were possessed illegally. FOX Reno reported a seizure of approximately 424 grams of fentanyl, 229 grams of methamphetamine, and two illegally possessed firearms. Those weights and the gun count are what the outlets said authorities reported. They are not a lab result proved in court, and they are not a trafficking weight the State has already established.

Whatley and Hayes were booked into the Washoe County Detention Facility on multiple felony narcotics-related charges. Hayes was additionally charged with carrying or possessing a firearm during the commission of a drug-related offense. The outlets did not publish statute numbers for those counts. A firearm count added at booking is still an accusation. It is not a finding that a gun was illegal, and it is not a finding that it was possessed during a drug offense.

Washoe County does not publish booking photos on its public inmate search. The photograph FOX Reno ran with the arrest is a table of bagged powder, pills, and two handguns, credited to the sheriff's office. That is a seizure photo. It is not a portrait of either defendant, and it is not evidence a jury has seen. Both remain presumed innocent unless and until a court finds otherwise.