As the Nancy Guthrie case remains in the spotlight, Sheriff Chris Nanos and the Pima County Sheriff’s Department reportedly face a new $1.35 million lawsuit from a jail inmate. The case has nothing to do with Guthrie’s disappearance but adds to the scrutiny around the agency. In a complaint that PEOPLE reviewed, inmate Christopher Marx alleges that the jail failed to take basic steps to limit COVID-19 exposure while he was in custody at the Pima County Jail. The lawsuit was filed on March 5 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona, naming Nanos and the department.
Nancy Guthrie case, Sheriff Chris Nanos faced million dollar lawsuit by inmate
PEOPLE reported that Sheriff Chris Nanos, who is leading the Nancy Guthrie case, is under scrutiny following a lawsuit that a jail inmate filed against him.
Inmate Christopher Marx claims that a deputy worked in a unit with an inmate quarantined for COVID-19, then moved back and forth into Marx’s unit, which was on lockdown, without proper sanitizing between visits. Moreover, Marx claims that the same deputy served meals.
He wrote that the situation “put my life in jeopardy,” adding, “I could of [sic] caught COVID-19,” and, “I could of [sic] died.”
According to the complaint, Marx seeks $1.35 million and says he wants to use the money to buy two apartment buildings to “house the homeless [for] six months rent free,” while also requesting an apology from the sheriff’s department.
PEOPLE reported that Sheriff Nanos does not comment on pending litigation.
Furthermore, Nanos recently addressed questions about his résumé, with a department statement to Entertainment Weekly saying, “The Pima County Sheriff’s Department recently identified two clerical errors in Sheriff Chris Nanos’ publicly posted resume,” calling the date issues “administrative in nature.”
Sheriff Chris Nanos has drawn a lot of attention since the Nancy Guthrie case gained national coverage — and now, all eyes are on the new lawsuit that the jail inmate filed against him.
