Man Detained in Nancy Guthrie Investigation to Sue for $2.5 Million, Says He Was Arrested at Gunpoint

In February, Carlos Palazuelos was detained in Arizona for questioning in connection with the disappearance of Today show anchor Savannah Guthrie‘s mother, Nancy Guthrie. He was quickly released that same day without being charged.

When speaking to ABC15 soon after the incident, Palazuelos said he was driving with his wife and arrested upon stepping out of his vehicle. “They didn’t even tell me what’s going on till the detectives got here, like two hours [after] I got arrested,” he said. “They told me I was being detained for kidnapping. And I asked him, ‘Kidnapping of who?’”

Six months after his arrest and release, Palazuelos and two others are planning to sue the Pima County Sheriff’s Department and Pima County. According a notice of claim, a precursor to a lawsuit, filed Monday and obtained by Arizona News, Palazuelos plans to seek $2.5 million for assault, false arrest, negligence, defamation, and false imprisonment. The filing alleges that Palazuelos was arrested at gunpoint and held without probable cause for approximately seven to eight hours. Sheriff Chris Nanos and Detective Earl Gieron are also named as defendants in the claim.

“Carlos’ arrest was made in a public fashion that was intended to damage Carlos’ reputation and subject him to humiliation and suspicion by implicating Carlos in the kidnapping of Nancy Guthrie,” lawyers for Palazuelos and the two other plaintiffs stated. “The PCSD carried out the arrest in this improper fashion in a misguided attempt to shield itself and Sheriff Nanos from public criticism related to their handling of the case and to boost Sheriff Nanos’ public profile.”

According to the claim, Daniel Maddox, was held at gunpoint, handcuffed, and then arrested outside the family home during the same incident. Maddox, who was released, is seeking $250,000 for assault, false arrest, negligence, defamation, and false imprisonment.

Josefina Maddox, Daniel’s mother and the homeowner, is seeking $250,000 for property damage the claim alleges deputies caused while executing a search warrant at her residence and includes a broken front doorframe, damaged paint and ceiling tiles, and a broken attic entrance.

A representative for Sheriff’s Department and Pima County did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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The desperate search for Nancy Guthrie has continued since she was abducted on Jan. 31. from her Tucson, Arizona, home. Nancy is believed to have been taken from her home against her will, as the FBI released photos of a masked assailant approaching her front door in the middle of the night.

In July, a man from Hawthorne, California, pleaded guilty to sending a fake ransom note to Guthrie’s family in relation to the 84-year-old woman’s disappearance.