The Chris Nanos controversy has resurfaced as the Nancy Guthrie investigation continues

Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos, who is facing increased scrutiny as the hunt for missing Nancy Guthrie approaches the two-week mark, has been under the public microscope in the past.

New reports and court records show the sheriff has been involved in several conflicts over the past decade.

In the weeks leading up to his 2024 re-election bid, which he won by 481 votes, Nanos placed his opponent Heather Lappin, a Pima County jail lieutenant, on administrative leave and ordered her not to discuss the reason for his decision, the Green Valley News reported.

He did the same to Sgt. Aaron Cross, an outspoken opponent and head of the Pima County Deputies Organization.

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Cross reportedly campaigned against Nanos, holding a sign on a street corner that read “Deputies Don’t Want Nanos” shortly before he was placed on leave. Nanos said Cross campaigned for him while wearing official clothing issued by the Pima County Sheriff’s Department (PCSD) in violation of department rules, which Cross denied.

In the federal lawsuit, filed against Nanos, Captain Juan Navarro and the PCSD, Cross states that “Nanos intentionally or negligently permitted an employment action against Plaintiff Cross that deprived Plaintiff Cross of the ability to participate in public hearings, and failed to consider or understand the First Amendment’s right to freedom of speech on matters of public concern.”

In August, Lappin filed another lawsuit against Nanos, alleging that after he decided to run for office, “Sheriff Nanos and PCSD leadership conducted a campaign to retaliate against Lieutenant Lappin’s work to undermine his position.”

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The lawsuit alleges that Lappin volunteered to pay for parts of a “general trainer” school for another lieutenant who had a scheduling conflict. He has taught general instructor school seven times before, including the same lieutenant many times.

FBI investigators search the Catalina Foothills in Tucson, Ariz., on Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026, during their investigation into the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie. (DWS for Fox News Digital)

But the school required by law a professional teacher to teach, which Lappin was not. The lawsuit says that despite having prepared the course before and despite knowing a lot about the preparations, Lappin was punished for his actions for the first time after declaring an interest in running against Nanos. The lawsuit says Nanos personally signed the disciplinary action, a move described as “unusual.”

He was then sent to the Pima County Adult Detention Center unexpectedly and said he did not receive an explanation for the act.

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“The issue involving the Training Center was the beginning of an extensive effort by Sheriff Nanos and PCSD leadership to damage Lieutenant Lappin’s reputation and discredit his campaign,” the lawsuit states.

“Within weeks of submitting his Statement of Interest, Captain Anderson had revoked Lieutenant Lappin’s authority and the command removed him from the Training Center to Prison. Although labeled as a lateral move, this transfer of punishment served as a reduction in responsibilities, elevation, and opportunity.”

The lawsuit also says that after Lappin posted a photo of Cross’s protest on his campaign website, he was immediately placed on leave.

Finally, he accused Nanos in the case of sending a press release a few weeks before the election to inform the public that Cross was on leave “to campaign for politics while representing. [himself] as a member of the department under color of authority” and “[i]t is known that Sergeant Cross is working with Lieutenant Heather Lappin in his campaign,” and that Lieutenant Lappin was “questioned” about Sergeant Cross’s activities.

Nancy Guthrie, 84, has been missing from her home in Arizona since Jan. 31, 2026. (Photos by Don Arnold/WireImage/Getty)

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According to the lawsuit, the release accused him of “collusion[ing] and a reporter to make it easier to pay an inmate to get a news story” while working at the detention center, Lappin denied.

“In all, Lieutenant Lappin has been referred to internal affairs five times since announcing his 2023 candidacy,” the lawsuit said. “Prior to his appointment, he had served on internal affairs during his eighteen years with PCSD.”

Both Cross’ and Lappin’s cases are ongoing.

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Shortly after Nanos’ narrow victory in 2024, the Pima County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to have an independent investigation into whether Nanos was guilty of any crimes during the election. That case was referred to the Arizona attorney general’s office, but no charges were ever brought.

In 2022, a female PCSD deputy was sexually assaulted by a supervisor at a holiday party. The manager, Ricardo Garcia, was found not guilty of sexual assault in December 2024 but was found guilty of two counts of attempted sexual assault and two counts of sexual assault. Garcia was sentenced to one year in prison and three years of probation.

In 2023, the Phima County Deputy’s Organization said Nanos did not investigate how the department’s leadership handled the investigation into the incident, which led to the referral of an independent investigation by the Arizona attorney general’s office.

Again, the office found no criminal charges but noted that the department may have violated several of its rules.

An FBI billboard in Albuquerque, NM, is raising awareness of the search for missing Nancy Guthrie. (KRQE)

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After the attorney general’s office released its report, the Pima County Board of Supervisors voted to formally ask Nanos to explain to the public the status of the internal investigation.

In 2015, Nanos was the designated manager of PCSD. He took the position after former Sheriff Clarence Dupnik retired and ran for the seat in 2016. But, that same year, the FBI began investigating the department for the misuse of forfeiture funds.

In many cases, funds seized by the police from criminals can be kept and used for authorized items such as additional law enforcement equipment.

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In October of that year, Chief Deputy Chris Radtke was indicted on federal charges and charged with misappropriating hundreds of thousands of dollars in missing goods. The department also reportedly spent $20,000 to build a commercial kitchen to open a cafe run by Radtke’s nephew. Radtke took a plea deal, agreeing to plead guilty to three counts of unlawful theft of government property. He didn’t go to jail.

Nanos was not charged.

During that investigation, Nanos gave a fiery interview to KGUN in which he strongly reprimanded the FBI.

FBI agents canvass homes near Nancy Guthrie’s home in Tucson, Friday, Feb. 6, 2026. (Fox News Digital’s Kat Ramirez)

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“When it came to the FBI investigation, that surprised me like everybody else,” he said. “Here is an organization that has been denying or admitting anything about any kind of investigation for years. They are famous for that.”

Nanos complained that the FBI confirmed to the reporter that the department is being investigated even though he sees it as keeping it secret. He said he was contacted by former FBI Assistant Special Agent in charge in Tucson Andy Black and had a “nice” conversation with him.

“Am I mad at the FBI? Absolutely,” he said in the interview. “They passed by saying ‘no comment.’ Who does that today? They think they are okay with that. And when this matter is settled and the case is over, I put Mr. Black challenged him to stand up and say, ‘We looked at this investigation, and we absolutely find this investigation to be complete BS.’ Because it is what it is. But you won’t hear that because they won’t confirm or deny it.”

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He later laughed and said that if the FBI “has trouble doing an investigation … please, call us because we have real police here.”

Nanos lost his election for sheriff that year but ran again in 2020.

During Guthrie’s investigation, Nanos is accused of downplaying the FBI’s involvement and improperly sending evidence to a private lab in Florida instead of to FBI headquarters in Quantico, Virginia.

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A member of the Pima County Sheriff’s Office sits outside the home of Nancy Guthrie on Monday, Feb. 9, 2026 in Tucson, Ariz. (Photo by Ty O’Neil/AP)

He denied both of those allegations in an interview with Fox News’ Matt Finn on Friday.

He told Finn that investigators had been using the Florida lab since the beginning of the investigation and that the Guthrie family’s DNA, along with other DNA, had already been sent there.

“Why separate your evidence from two different labs can create conflict, but more importantly, it adds that extra step,” he said. “This lab has this piece, this lab has that piece. Now they have to put those two pieces together to do the elimination or identification. No, just send it to one lab. Let’s go. Both are big labs. Both have big machines and smart people.

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“We trust the FBI crime lab. We’ve used it before. But, this time, we started with that lab,” he said. “It’s as simple as that.”

Nanos also denied the claim that his office delayed contacting the FBI for help in the case, saying he had no reason not to cooperate with the federal law enforcement agency, that it would be “absolutely insane” not to do so and that his department and the FBI were working well together. He said he called the FBI on February 2, the first business day after the investigation began.

Nanos did not return a request for comment.