Axeel Melendez swatting: Nancy Guthrie case sheriff faces $176M claim as man alleges deputies shot, paralyzed him

A Tucson man is seeking $176 million from the Pima County Sheriff's Department after deputies responding to an alleged swatting call shot him.

Sheriff Chris Nanos, who is leading the investigation into the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, is facing another major legal challenge after a Tucson man filed a notice of claim seeking $176 million in damages.

Axeel Melendez is suing the Pima County Sheriff's Department for $176 million after being shot and paralyzed. (REUTERS)

Tucson man shot and paralyzed after fake swatting call

Axeel Melendez, 24, is suing Sheriff Chris Nanos and the Pima County, Arizona, sheriff's department after deputies shot and paralyzed him while responding to a phony "swatting" call. This is the second major lawsuit against the department in two weeks.

According to AZPM, Someone pretending to be Melendez called the city's 311 non-emergency line on April 10. The caller claimed Melendez's father had shot his sister and gave out his home address.

Less than 48 hours before that call, Melendez had gotten a threatening message from a hacker demanding money for his gaming accounts. The hacker also threatened to falsely report him to ICE because of his Hispanic name.

So, Melendez called 911 to report these threats, but the operator brushed off his concerns. She told him, "They can't just call SWAT on you. That's not how it works," and assured him "nothing's going to happen."

Later, the sheriff's department got a suspicious call about Melendez's house, which they found to be fake. They told him he'd be warned if anything like that happened again, according to an incident report obtained by his lawyer.

Deputies opened fire despite warnings

Less than 48 hours later, when the second swatting call came in and this time, deputies opened fire, paralyzing Melendez. A responding deputy knew the call could be fake but still treated it “like it's real until it's not real.”

When deputies arrived, they broke in through a bedroom window. Thinking intruders were breaking in, Melendez grabbed his family's legal handgun and hid behind his door. Deputies fired seven shots through the door, hitting him in the thigh and shoulder. The shots broke his ribs and leg and left him with a spinal cord injury.

Sethi said Melendez was handcuffed while bleeding, even after the house was cleared.

Attorney Dev Sethi said the call had many red flags. “This morning of the April 10 call has many red flags and hallmarks of it being a fake call, including…this call came into 311. Nobody reporting an emergency calls 311,” he said. Sethi also pointed out that the caller mispronounced Melendez's first name, even though they were pretending to be him and that the call came from an out-of-state number.

“Axeel's health, his independence, his ability to earn a living, his sense of security, that's all been stolen away from him,” Sethi said, adding, “He did everything we teach our kids to do... Call the police.”

Sethi said of Melendez, “Axeel is a shooting victim whose life will never be the same … his life has been shattered.”

The county has 60 days to respond to the claim, filed July 23. If denied or ignored, the lawsuit moves to court.

Second lawsuit against the same department

Sheriff Nanos is already facing another multi-million-dollar lawsuit over his allegedly botched investigation into the disappearance of 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie, mother of "Today" show host Savannah Guthrie, according to New York Post.

Carlos Palazuelos and two family members plan to sue the department for $3 million after deputies arrested him and raided his house after Guthrie vanished in February. Deputies drew guns on Palazuelos, held him for seven to eight hours and then released him without charges.

Palazuelos is seeking $2.5 million, while relatives Daniel Maddox and Josefina Maddox are seeking $500,000 and $250,000, respectively, after deputies raided their home and allegedly damaged their property.

Palazuelos also accuses Nanos of refusing to clear his name after calling him a “person of interest” to reporters.