Sheriff Chris Nanos defends YouTubers’ arrests near Nancy Guthrie’s home

Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos says deputies warned true crime YouTubers multiple times before arrests outside Nancy Guthrie’s home, arguing the creators became a “nuisance” as complaints surged. One creator, Alexander Zabel Jr., was cited at one point, then

Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos didn’t hedge when asked about the June arrests of true crime YouTubers outside Nancy Guthrie’s home. In his telling. deputies tried to keep things calm first — then escalated only after repeated warnings and growing disruption for the neighborhood of the missing matriarch.

Nanos discussed the June incident during a recent appearance on KVOI’s “The Buckmaster Show. ” where he said the arrests came after deputies “tried to be very reasonable.” His version began with a visible deterrent: deputies parked at Guthrie’s residence to keep people away. When the situation didn’t improve and. in his words. “too many cars are parked here and the neighbors couldn’t get by. ” the sheriff said deputies put up “no parking signs – temporary signs.”.

As the media attention around the apparent abduction of Guthrie’s mother spread. Nanos said the “real media” was “very respectful” toward both the sheriff’s department and the community at large. He also praised outlets for leaving after no new developments surfaced in the weeks that followed — adding that a few creators didn’t.

The core of Nanos’s complaint was the creators who stayed. He said their presence “got to be a nuisance to the community. ” and that his department received reports about them “every day.” While he acknowledged the creators had a right to report the news. he insisted they “should have some respect for the neighborhood.”.

He pointed to a stark change in volume: “We went from a neighborhood that averaged 50 reports in a six month time to over 180. almost 200. ” Nanos said. His explanation for what came next was blunt and procedural. Deputies. he said. tried a stepped approach — warnings first. then tickets. then arrests — and told the creators that if there was “something new or shattering. ” “the entire media outlets will know about [it].”.

Nanos also said he extended an invitation for them to camp outside his office. He described the department’s protocol as consistent: warn first, issue a ticket after, and only then make an arrest.

That final step arrived, he said, when conduct crossed a line the neighborhood could not absorb. “I didn’t want to have to book anybody. but it got to a point where you know you cannot urinate [or] defecate in front of [the] neighborhood. you just can’t do that. ” he said. “And I had enough, and I said, ‘That’s it, they’re going to go to jail.’”.

The arrests have already been reported in June. when Pima County authorities said the June 8 arrests of YouTubers Alexander Zabel Jr. Troy Lewis “DAA Juice” Bradshaw. and Damian Todd Enderle came after complaints of trespassing and disrupting the peace. During his appearance on “The Buckmaster Show. ” Nanos clarified that one alleged culprit received a misdemeanor citation. while the other creators were physically booked.

Zabel Jr., however, was arrested again the following Thursday. The sheriff’s department said that on June 11, 2026, just before 5 p.m., deputies arrested 54-year-old Alexander Zabel Jr. “in front of Nancy Guthrie’s home.” The department stated it had received several complaints about his behavior and that. at the time. Zabel was live streaming outside the residence. It also said that during the arrest process, a PCSD sergeant was knocked to the ground.

Zabel Jr. responded to the arrests by defending his intent and disputing specific allegations. He said he always meant to keep Guthrie’s “name in the public eye and and keep attention on a missing person case that still has more questions than answers.”

In his statement. he also said he heard claims that he urinated on camera during a livestream. adding: “That never happened. My livestream began in the Uber ride to the location. If such an event had occurred, it would have been captured on video for the world to see. It wasn’t. because it didn’t happen.” He concluded by saying. “I am a true crime streamer. an independent journalist. and a citizen exercising rights protected by the Constitution.”.

Zabel Jr.’s full statement is available to read online.

The sequence of warnings and escalating enforcement described by Nanos — deputies parked at the house. temporary no-parking signs. a shift from complaints at about 50 reports in a six-month time span to over 180 and nearly 200. and the department’s warning-then-ticket-then-arrest approach — centers the same question: when does coverage become disruption. especially in a neighborhood already living under the uncertainty of a missing person case?.

For now, Nanos’s defense is clear. The department, he said, tried to be reasonable — and once he believed the behavior couldn’t be contained, he said deputies moved to arrests.

Nancy Guthrie Chris Nanos Pima County Sheriff true crime YouTubers Alexander Zabel Jr. Troy Lewis DAA Juice Bradshaw Damian Todd Enderle The Buckmaster Show livestream arrest missing person case Tucson Arizona