Pima County Sheriff's Department faces $3.25M claim over wrongful detention in Nancy Guthrie case

The Pima County Sheriff’s Department faces a staggering $3.25 million legal claim following a wrongful detention of a man and his family during the investigation into the disappearance of 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie.

The man identified as Carlos Palazuelos, along with relatives Josefina Maddoz and Daniel Maddox, filed a notice of claim against the Pima County Sheriff’s Department, Sheriff Chris Nanos, and Detective Earl Gieron.

As stated in the claim, Palazuelos was arrested at gunpoint on February 10, 2026, and held for up to eight hours. He was then released without any charges. He is seeking $2.5 million, stating the experience left him feeling “as though he himself had been kidnapped.”

Daniel Maddox, who had been cuffed and guarded under arms outside the house, is seeking $500,000, while Josefina Maddox has sought $250,000 compensation for damages to property allegedly done during the execution of the warrant at her house in Rio Rico.

According to the complaint, the Pima County Sheriff's Department procured the search warrant on the basis of "false or frivolous evidence" and failed to have probable cause for arresting Palazuelos. The sheriff has been accused of referring to Palazuelos as a "person of interest" in a social media platform without offering any retraction of such a statement.

Palazuelos then said that he has since been stalked by strangers. “It’s been kind of scary for me and for my wife, my kids, and everybody,” he said.

According to attorney Jesse Showaalter, the family is looking for accountability from the Pima County Sheriff's Department. According to the laws of Arizona, there must be a 60-day period that passes before the claim can be considered as being denied.