An inmate in Arizona has filed a $1.35 million lawsuit against a sheriff, alleging his life was put at risk. The claim is separate from the ongoing investigation involving Nancy Guthrie, the mother of NBC Today Show host Savannah Guthrie.

Sheriff Chris Nanos faces criticism for his handling of the search for Nancy Guthrie, who is 84 and missing. In a separate issue, Christopher Michael Marx, a 54-year-old inmate at the Pima County Jail, submitted the lawsuit on March 5, as reported by Newsweek.

Marx accuses Nanos and the Pima County Sheriff’s Department of violating his rights, alleging they jeopardized his safety and subjected him to cruel and unusual punishment.

According to The Hill, the lawsuit highlights an incident where a sheriff’s deputy moved between Marx’s unit and another unit under quarantine after a COVID-19 case was detected.

“This deputy was going back and forth working both units… our unit was on lockdown because this deputy was working both units,” Marx detailed in the legal documents, as reported by the Daily Mail.

‘This deputy was going back and forth working both units … our unit was on lockdown because this deputy was working both units,’ Marx wrote in the suit obtained by the Daily Mail.

The filing accused the unidentified deputy of failing to disinfect himself while working and even serving meals between the quarantined unit and Marx’s unit. 

He said the deputy ‘put my life in jeopardy with their action, constantly.’

Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos is among those named in a lawsuit in which a prisoner alleged Nanos ‘endangered his life’

Today Show host Savannah Guthrie’s mother Nancy Guthrie has been missing since February 1

Guthrie was last seen at her home in Tucson, Arizona on February 1

Marx accused Nanos of failing to ensure COVID-19 protocol was followed among his team. 

‘My life was put in harm’s way by the actions of the sheriff… I could have died,’ Marx, who has demanded an apology from Nanos, wrote. 

Marx was found guilty of shoplifting in 2024. 

He has reportedly sought $1.35 million in compensation to go toward rent-free apartments for homeless people to live in for six months with ‘no strings attached.’

Marx also asked the Pima County Sheriff’s Department to ‘make sure that they properly disinfect their bodies when the deputies are working two units at a time, and one of these units is quarantined.’

Nanos has faced a lot of scrutiny, as many accused him of allowing his ego to cloud the Guthrie investigation.

Nancy Guthrie was reported missing from her Tucson home on February 1. Blood found on her front porch led investigators to believe she was forcibly taken.

‘It is a common belief in this agency that this case has become an ego case for Sheriff Nanos,’ Pima County Deputies Organization president Aaron Cross told The New York Post. 

The 84-year-old’s investigation has been shrouded in false leads and red herrings, which some say were caused by Nanos’ hesitancy to accept the FBI’s assistance.

One law enforcement source told the Daily Mail that Nanos will ‘only let himself or two of his handpicked staffers make decisions on the case.’

Nanos has been criticized for his handling of the search for Nancy Guthrie

Others have said he made crucial errors in the first hours of the search for Nancy. 

Despite the deluge of delays, former FBI agent Jennifer Coffindaffer said an arrest may be coming soon after officials turned down civilian search efforts. 

‘Wondering why Sheriff Nanos keeps turning away proven very capable civilian search experts like EquuSearch and the real Cajun Navy?’ Coffindaffer wrote on X.

‘Is [law enforcement] close to an arrest and they know what happened to Nancy so they don’t want to waste the valuable resources of these groups? But why won’t the sheriff at least acknowledge these groups?’ 

Nanos told NBC News that the Sheriff’s Department’s homicide unit has been working with the FBI, although search efforts are continuing under the assumption that Nancy is alive.

The Pima County Sheriff’s Department announced that its homicide team began working with the FBI on the investigation

A masked figure was senn on Nancy’s doorbell camera before she went missing on February 1

The FBI released doorbell footage from outside her home showing a masked figure wearing black latex gloves, a backpack and what appeared to be a holstered gun. 

Roughly 16 rogue gloves were found in the neighborhood around her home, though none have been traced back to promising suspects. 

Authorities described the suspect as a man with ‘an average build’ standing roughly 5’9″ or 5’10”.

No official suspects have been named by police, and an arrest has yet to be made.

The Guthrie family recently announced a $1 million reward to anyone who provides information that leads to the return of their mother.

The FBI has also offered $100,000 for information that leads to Nancy’s rescue. 

The Daily Mail contacted the Sheriff’s Office and Marx’s lawyer for comment.