Carlos Palazuelos, the Tucson delivery driver detained and released without charges in the Nancy Guthrie disappearance investigation, is now demanding that Pima County reveal the sealed evidence used to justify raiding his family's home, and he wants $3.25 million for what he calls a wrongful arrest.

Palazuelos, 36, sat down with Newsweek in an interview published August 12 and called on the Pima County Sheriff's Department to disclose what led investigators to his door on February 10, ten days after 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie was last seen at her Tucson, Arizona home. Deputies searched his family's residence under a warrant and arrested him at gunpoint. He was held for hours. No charges followed.

His attorney, Jesse Showalter, put the challenge in blunt terms: unseal the affidavit and let the public see what the sheriff's department told a judge to get that warrant. The affidavit remains under seal. And Palazuelos and several family members have filed a notice of claim seeking $3.25 million from Pima County authorities, alleging wrongful arrest and an unjustified search.

Showalter says the evidence behind the raid is "secret"

Showalter framed the demand as a basic transparency question. In remarks reported alongside the Newsweek interview, the attorney laid out what he wants and why.

"I want to see the search warrant affidavit that was used in order to obtain the search warrant that led to the arrest and the search of his family home."

He went further, pressing for a full accounting of the investigative chain that led deputies to Palazuelos.

"I want to read how it came to pass that they went after Carlos, what their purported evidence was and what they told the judge in order to get that search warrant."

Showalter also told reporters that the department has refused to publicly clear his client's name. In a separate interview with the New York Post, the attorney was more direct: "Carlos is not a person of interest. He is not an investigative lead. We messed up. We need to see some accountability obviously."

That word, "secret", captures the core of the dispute. As Showalter put it: "Whatever evidence supposedly existed, for the arrest and for the search is secret." The warrant remains sealed, the affidavit remains hidden, and Palazuelos remains publicly associated with a case in which he has never been charged.

Palazuelos says the fallout has followed his family

Palazuelos spoke with Fox News on February 11, the day after his detention, and described what investigators asked him. He acknowledged he delivers packages in the Tucson area and said it was possible he had delivered to Nancy Guthrie's home at some point: "I don't know, it might have been a possibility. I don't know."

He also described what he said happened to one of his in-laws during the investigation. Palazuelos told Fox News that deputies showed a photo of a masked suspect, known publicly as "Porch Guy", to the relative. The in-law's reaction, according to Palazuelos: the suspect "supposedly looked like my eyes."

That thin thread, a delivery route that might have crossed Nancy Guthrie's address, and a relative's reported observation about a masked figure's eyes, appears to be the only publicly known basis for the sheriff's department's interest in Palazuelos. The ransom notes released earlier in the investigation generated a surge of tips, but no public connection has been drawn between those leads and Palazuelos.

The personal cost, meanwhile, has been real. Palazuelos told the New York Post that strangers have followed and photographed his family since the detention: "People taking pictures of us or following us... it's been kind of scary for me and for my wife, my kids and everybody."

Sheriff Nanos defends the warrant but names no suspect

Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos addressed the Palazuelos situation in a July interview with Fox News Digital. He defended the department's actions without offering specifics about the sealed affidavit.

"We had information that made us believe that there's a potential that Nancy's there, or there's a potential the bad guy's there. That evidence is presented to the judge that says, 'Yep, go get him.'"

Nanos also made clear that no one has been permanently cleared. Two men, Palazuelos and another individual named Luke Daly, were detained and released without charges, but the sheriff told Fox News Digital that previously cleared individuals could re-enter the investigation if new evidence surfaces. "We're not even close to these leads being dried up," Nanos said.

That posture creates a difficult reality for Palazuelos. He has not been charged. He has not been publicly cleared. And the document that would explain why deputies came for him in the first place remains locked behind a court seal.

The investigation itself remains open, with no suspect publicly named months after Nancy Guthrie disappeared. DNA recovered from a hair sample at the scene could not be profiled, complicating the forensic picture. The FBI returned to search the Tucson neighborhood near the six-month mark, and questions have been raised about whether an early delay by the sheriff's department cost investigators access to critical evidence.

A $3.25 million claim and a 60-day clock

The notice of claim filed by Palazuelos and several family members alleges he was arrested at gunpoint and held for hours without probable cause. The filing seeks $3.25 million from Pima County authorities. Under Arizona procedure, the county has 60 days to respond before Showalter can escalate the matter to a formal lawsuit.

Whether the county settles, contests, or ignores the claim will say something about how confident officials are in the evidence behind that sealed warrant. If the affidavit contains strong justification, unsealing it would answer Showalter's challenge and potentially undercut the claim. If it does not, the county faces a harder question.

Meanwhile, Savannah Guthrie, Nancy's daughter and co-anchor of NBC's Today, has offered a $1 million reward for information leading to an arrest. Five months passed without an arrest, and Savannah Guthrie publicly pleaded for answers. That reward remains unclaimed.

The case has drawn national attention not just because of the Guthrie family's public profile, but because of the investigative missteps that have surfaced along the way. The FBI director publicly noted that a four-day delay by the sheriff's department may have cost investigators access to surveillance footage that could have been decisive. Ransom notes in the case contained details that, according to a retired FBI agent's analysis, only someone present at the scene would know.

Nanos has maintained that his department believes someone in the community knows what happened. "We believe, just as the family does, just as Savannah does, somebody knows something," the sheriff told Fox News Digital.

An 84-year-old woman is still missing. No one has been charged. And the one man publicly swept up in the investigation says the government owes him an explanation, or $3.25 million. When the authorities seal the evidence and leave the suspect list open-ended, accountability starts to look like something only the accused are expected to provide.