Sheriff under fire amid Nancy Guthrie case allegedly brought loaded firearm to airport checkpoint
Embattled Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos has been called out by a local resident over an incident at the local airport, where TSA agents allegedly stopped him at the security checkpoint with a loaded, undeclared firearm in his carry-on bag.
And the hits keep coming, with a recent independent investigation into bullying and retaliation allegations against the sheriff finding that the "preponderance of the evidence" shows he abused his office for political gain during a close race in 2024 against former PCSD Lt. Heather Lappin.
Amid that contentious race, a woman named Cory Stephens complained to the county board of supervisors at a public meeting on Nov. 12, 2024 that the sheriff did not face the same consequences a regular citizen would have.
"If a private citizen had encountered that at the airport, the consequences would have been greater," Stephens, a longtime Tucson resident and president of the Conservative Coalition of America, told Fox News Digital over the phone Friday.
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Nanos' office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the incident, which did not result in any charges.
Stephens said she found the incident alarming after hearing about it in local circles and was disappointed it received little attention in the media, so she brought it up during public comment at a board of supervisors hearing.
Nanos is facing heightened scrutiny amid the ongoing investigation into the disappearance of 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie, mother of "Today" co-host Savannah Guthrie. While the complicated case remains unsolved, the sheriff's critics have seized on other issues — including lawsuits against him from his own current and former deputies and an allegation that he lied about past disciplinary problems under oath.
"We as citizens want answers," Stephens said. "The safety of our community is at stake."
An incident report obtained by Fox News Digital from Nov. 6, 2024, shows a TSA X-ray technician saw the weapon in the sheriff's bag and flagged an officer.
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"As a law enforcement officer, he should know the TSA rules, how to declare a weapon, secure it and follow the same rules as everyone else," Stephens said.
Airport police found five rounds in the magazine and another in the chamber.
The sheriff missed his flight, stowed the firearm in his vehicle and flew out later.
James Gagliano, a retired FBI agent and Fox News contributor, said he found the whole incident surprising because as a law enforcement officer, the sheriff could've taken measures to fly with it legally.
"You declare yourself as a law enforcement officer ahead of time," he said.
The protocol requires confirmation between the TSA and the individual's agency, but typically allows active-duty personnel to fly with their weapons, he said.
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After the X-ray tech found the weapon in Lane 1 at the Tucson International Airport's B Concourse, the first responding officer recused himself due to an apparent conflict of interest, according to the incident report.
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The second officer brought Nanos to a private screening room, where he asked the sheriff where in his bag the gun was located, according to the incident report.
Nanos told him it was in a zippered pocket, where the officer removed it and found five rounds in the magazine and another in the chamber, according to the incident report.
Read the incident report:
"The firearm was in a hard plastic holster," the officer wrote. "The firearm was not artfully or purposely concealed."
The sheriff, of course, had no active warrants. But the officer read him his Miranda rights and informed his superiors as well as the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI.
"Mr. Nanos was escorted off the concourse to place his firearm in his vehicle, and he was rebooked to fly out at a later time," the report concludes.
That appears to have been the end of the incident.
But it's one of many allegations against the sheriff to resurface during the stalled search for Nancy Guthrie.
Lt. Lappin's retaliation complaint led to an independent investigation by Northstar Employment & Legal Solutions, which cleared the sheriff of bullying allegations but found that "the preponderance of the evidence supports a finding that Sheriff Nanos used his authority and department resources for political gain."
He is also accused of violating department rules on courtesy and civility for allegedly putting confidential information about Lappin in a press release during the campaign.
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However, while the review found the sheriff's actions "inconsistent with the listed policies," it also found that he is not subject to those policies because he is an elected official.
A spokesperson for the sheriff's department said Nanos has been made aware of the investigation's results.
"The findings do not support allegations of bullying but note additional concerns," she said in a statement. "The Sheriff has requested the full report for review."
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PCSD declined to comment further, citing a pending civil lawsuit, and Lappin did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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Last year, the Pima County Board of Supervisors referred Nanos to the state attorney general for investigation into whether he behaved inappropriately during the campaign. Lappin was suspended over what county officials said appeared to be unsubstantiated allegations and prevented from actively campaigning.
The sheriff is also facing a First Amendment lawsuit from another deputy who alleges he was retaliated against for supporting Lappin ahead of the vote.
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The Pima County Board of Supervisors, which has a 4-1 Democrat majority, also moved unanimously last week to have outside counsel draft proposed questions for Nanos and plans to bring him in front of the panel to answer questions about his workplace history and other concerns.
The sheriff, who declined to comment on the board's decision, was not accused of wrongdoing in connection with the Guthrie investigation during the meeting.
"We have information that we need as an electorate to know who we’re voting into office," Stephens told Fox News Digital. "We need all the information that we could possibly have to put the right people into office."
Stephens, who unsuccessfully ran for a seat on the board as a Republican in 2024, has called on Nanos to step down following allegations that he lied under oath in connection with a lawsuit from another deputy as well as on his application to join the department back in the mid-1980s.
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"He was not properly vetted," she said.
The search for Guthrie remains unsolved more than two months after she is believed to have been taken from her Tucson home in the dead of night. No suspects have been publicly identified.
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A masked intruder wearing long sleeves and rubber gloves appeared on Nest doorbell camera video at her front door around the time of her suspected abduction. Although the video has been widely circulated, it has not led to his identity.
And a DNA sample taken from inside the home containing genetic material from an unknown male has not yet been unraveled.
The family is asking anyone with information to dial 1-800-CALL-FBI. There is a combined reward of more than $1.2 million for information that leads to an arrest or Guthrie's recovery.
