Sheriff Chris Nanos avoids ouster as county refers perjury allegations to AG

A move to oust Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos failed at a Board of Supervisors meeting Tuesday night, although the board voted to refer the perjury allegations to the state attorney general’s office because Nanos’ background and handling of the Nancy Guthrie case came under intense scrutiny.

Republican Steve Christy requested that the board declare the sheriff’s position vacant and immediately begin the process to replace it. However, no one supported the motion and the attempt to oust him failed.

Democrat Rex Scott then made a motion to refer the perjury allegations against Nanos to the state AG’s office, which the board approved 4-0, with Christy abstaining.

“My primary concern about what is happening within the Sheriff’s Department is that our elected sheriff has made no discernible effort to rebuild relationships and trust within our largest department,” Scott said after that vote. “The most telling example was the unanimous vote of the Pima County Deputies’ Organization declaring its distrust of his leadership.”

The commission’s actions ended a high-stakes showdown over allegations that the man leading the investigation into Guthrie’s kidnapping lied under oath about his criminal record.

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Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos leaves a gym in Tucson, Arizona on May 9, 2026. (Matthew Symons for Fox News Digital)

These developments follow weeks of mounting pressure from county leaders, with two supervisors, Christy and Democrat Matt Heinz, pushing to remove the elected sheriff or take formal action against him.

“It’s a liability for a guy who has evaded accountability for decades,” Heinz told Fox News Digital last week, calling Nanos a “threat to public safety.”

At the center of the controversy are claims that Nanos misled officials about his disciplinary history as a Texas police officer in the 1970s and 1980s.

The allegations stem from a deposition in a lawsuit, during which Nanos testified under oath that he was never suspended as a law enforcement officer.

El Paso records, first obtained by the Arizona Republic and then released publicly by the county, show he was suspended several times and resigned instead of being fired.

Christy said the sheriff had already missed the deadline to respond under oath to the board’s questions, making the situation worse.

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“He’s already failed this request… so we’re in the next phase,” Christy said, signaling a possible decision to leave the office.

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Because the sheriff is an elected official, removing him from office is legally complicated, although supervisors have pointed to a rarely used Arizona law dating to the 1800s as a possible path forward.

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Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos speaks to the media in Catalina, Arizona on February 3 while answering questions about the search for Nancy Guthrie. (Jan Sonnenmair/Getty Images)

Even without revocation, Heinz said the board could still take other actions, including passing a resolution expressing a lack of confidence or referring the allegations to a criminal investigation by the state attorney general.

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He also noted that a perjury conviction would eventually force the sheriff to resign from office.

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Adding to the tension, both sides retained outside legal counsel rather than relying on the county attorney’s office, a move that Christy said costs taxpayers additional money.

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A Pima County Sheriff’s official stands outside Nancy Guthrie’s home in Tucson, Arizona on February 14, 2026. (Ty O’Neil/AP)

In a written response to the board, Nanos pushed back against these claims, arguing that the controversy stemmed from a misunderstanding and not perjury.

His attorney says the sheriff’s testimony referred only to his career in Arizona, pointing out that he was never suspended during his decades with the Pima County Sheriff’s Department, although he was disciplined earlier in Texas.

The memo also confirms that Nanos resigned from the El Paso Police Department in 1982 rather than accept a proposed suspension following a dispute with a supervisor.

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Heinz disputed that characterization, arguing that the record shows Nanos resigned in lieu of termination, not disciplinary action.

The sheriff declined to answer questions in person under oath, instead submitting a notarized statement to the board after the deadline, which Heinz said could still be accepted but would not address the underlying concerns.

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Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos leaves the press room after providing an update on the investigation into the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, 84, in Tucson, Arizona, February 5, 2026. (Reuters/Rebecca Noble)

The investigation into Guthrie’s disappearance on February 1 has now spanned more than 100 days with little public progress.

The case, involving the 84-year-old mother of “Today” co-host Savannah Guthrie, attracted national attention and sparked tensions between Nanos and the FBI, including a public clash with Director Kash Patel over whether the federal agents had been initially sidelined.

Heinz also asked the sheriff to turn the investigation over to federal authorities.

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“It’s ridiculous,” he said. “Almost every other jurisdiction would have done this by now.”

More than $1.2 million in rewards are now being offered for information that leads to answers, as his family continues to seek help.