Bumbling Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos will keep his job — for now — after county leaders shot down a move to oust him amid accusations of lying about his record and bungling the Nancy Guthrie case.
The Pima County Board of Supervisors dismissed a motion Tuesday to vacate the sheriff’s office, which two of its five members had vowed to pursue if Nanos didn’t step down.
One of those vocal opponents, Republican Steve Christy, made the motion, but it wasn’t seconded.
Democrat Matt Heinz, who bragged to Fox News that he would support Christy’s play, seemed to back down: He seconded a motion to refer perjury allegations to the attorney general’s office and remain neutral as a body “on the advice of legal counsel.”
Democrat Rex Scott, who moved to let the matter drop, still expressed deep misgivings about Nanos’ performance.
“My chief concern with what’s been going on within the sheriff’s department is that our elected sheriff has taken no discernible efforts to repair relationships and trust within our largest department,” Scott said after that vote.
The decision ended a standoff between Nanos and opponents in county leadership, who accused him of lying under oath about a history of suspensions and insubordination while he worked as a cop in El Paso, Texas, in the ’70s.
Nanos — who skipped Tuesday’s meeting — is also under fire for bungling the search for the elderly mom of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie, who has now been missing for 101 days.
The perjury allegations involve an answer Nanos gave during a 2024 lawsuit. The sheriff was asked whether he had ever been suspended during his law enforcement career and responded “no.”
But he had, in fact, been suspended from the El Paso Police Department multiple times for “insubordination” and “consistent inefficiency” and finally resigned in 1982 “in lieu of disciplinary action” after a dispute with a supervisor, his lawyer James Cool confirmed in a memorandum submitted to the board last month.
Cool claimed the “no” answer came from a misunderstanding of the question, not perjury, and Nanos was referring to his record in Arizona, not his time in Texas, “more than four decades ago.”
Steve Christy said the sheriff had already missed a deadline to answer questions under oath from the board — escalating the situation.
“He’s already failed that request… so we’re into the next phase,” Christy said, signaling a potential move to vacate the office.
Because the sheriff is an elected official, removing him is legally complicated, though supervisors have pointed to a rarely used Arizona law dating back to the 1800s as a possible path forward.
Even without removal, Heinz said the board could still take other actions, including passing a resolution expressing a lack of confidence or referring the allegations for criminal investigation by the state attorney general.
He also noted that a conviction on perjury charges would ultimately force the sheriff from office.
Adding to the tension, both sides have retained outside legal counsel rather than relying on the county attorney’s office, a move Christy said is costing taxpayers additional money.
The memo also confirms Nanos resigned from the El Paso Police Department in 1982 rather than accept a proposed suspension following a dispute with a supervisor.
Heinz has disputed that characterization, arguing the record shows Nanos resigned in lieu of termination, not discipline.
The sheriff declined to answer questions in person under oath, instead submitting a notarized statement to the board after the deadline, which Heinz said may still be accepted but does not resolve the underlying concerns.
The investigation into Guthrie’s Feb. 1 disappearance has now stretched past 100 days with few public breakthroughs.
The Guthrie case has drawn national attention and sparked tension between Nanos and the FBI, including a public clash with Director Kash Patel over whether federal agents were initially sidelined.
Heinz has also called on the sheriff to hand over the investigation to federal authorities.
“It’s ridiculous,” he said. “Almost every other jurisdiction would have done so by now.”
More than $1.2 million in reward money is now being offered for information that leads to answers, as her family continues to plead for help.
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