What To Know
- The lawyer for two men detained in the Nancy Guthrie disappearance case criticized Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos for mishandling the investigation.
- Carlos Palazuelos, one of the detained men, alleges wrongful detention, defamation, and property damage.
- Concerns have been raised about investigative missteps, including failure to secure the crime scene.
As the Nancy Guthrie investigation continues into its sixth month with no updates on her whereabouts or potential suspects, an attorney representing two men detained during the search has spoken out against Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos.
Jesse Showalter, the lawyer representing Arizona residents Carlos Palazuelos and Daniel Maddox, recently appeared on NewsNation’s Elizabeth Vargas Reports, where he blasted Nanos and the Pima County Sheriff’s Department for their handling of the investigation.
Showalter spoke specifically about his client, Palazuelos, who was detained on February 10 for questioning and released without charges. Palazuelos, who has accused the department of wrongful detention, defamation, and property damage, claims he was arrested in public at gunpoint and held for up to eight hours.
“As it stands right now, all of the reported evidence that they used to obtain the search warrant… search warrant we think was obtained without probable cause, is sealed,” Showalter told Vargas. “We can’t look at it. We can’t analyze it. And Sheriff Nanos won’t tell us what it is.”
Nancy, the 84-year-old mother of Today’s Savannah Guthrie, went missing on February 1, when police believe she was abducted from her home in Tucson, Arizona. Investigators have released doorbell camera footage of a masked suspect and sent DNA for testing at the FBI lab in Quantico, but no suspects have been named publicly.
“On the night in question, Carlos was not in that neighborhood,” Showalter continued, adding that the PCSD has provided no reason for his client’s detention.
“From our perspective, it’s very clear that they made a mistake,” he added, noting that authorities conducted a DNA test on Palazuelos and took his phone but found nothing suspicious on it. “What’s not clear yet is the precise contours of that mistake. Were they relying on a false tip? Were they relying on bad information from Flock cameras or government databases?”
Showalter also said he found it “disturbing” that Nanos recently stated neither Palazuelos nor Maddox have been cleared as potential suspects.
“It looks like he’s just lost at sea,” the attorney stated. “It looks like he’s out of his depth. He doesn’t have control of this investigation. He doesn’t have leads, and he can’t even exercise restraint in his speech.”
Showalter’s comments follow a recent Wall Street Journal article highlighting missteps by the Nanos and his detectives. The article detailed how deputies reportedly failed to properly secure the crime scene and underestimated the significance of dried blood on Nancy’s front porch.