Reno man gets 40 year prison sentence

RENO - A Reno man found guilty this week of murdering the daughter of a Carson City realtor will spend a minimum of 40 years in prison before he would be eligible for parole.

Brandon Douglas Allan, 24, was sentenced to two life terms with the possibility of parole Friday evening.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Dave Clifton said the jury took two hours to decide on the sentence, the same time they took to reach a verdict.

"The soonest he could be to the parole board will be when he is 64," Clifton said Friday night. "We are happy with all of the verdicts from the jury and couldn't have asked for more."

Allan claimed that a shooting that killed 23-year-old Kellie Parry in October 1999 was accidental. Since his arrest, Allan has maintained his innocence, saying that he accidentally discharged a .50-caliber handgun in the bedroom of his home in the 5400 block of Slope Drive. The bullet hit Parry in the back.

Since Allan's arrest, Carson City Realtor Gayle Farley has crusaded for a first-degree murder conviction and, through Clifton's efforts, she got it Thursday in Washoe County District Court.

The sentence was automatically doubled because of the deadly weapon enhancement.

Several relatives of Perry, including Farley, testified for the prosecution in their effort to secure a life sentence without parole. On the defense's side, Allen's stepfather, brother and sister-in-law testified at what Clifton called a "charged" hearing.

"We were really glad to get the first degree murder conviction," he said. "We would accept anything as far as the sentencing goes."

During the trial, which lasted all week, the jury weighed conviction options of manslaughter, first- or second-degree murder. Since they found Allen guilty of the most serious charge, sentencing options included life with or without parole or fifty years.