PIMA County Sheriff’s Office, the same department in charge of the Nancy Guthrie case, was slammed with another scandal this week.
The office has been under fire for its handling of the Guthrie case since the Today Show co-host’s mother went missing almost two months ago, with barely any leads into her disappearance.
Now, the department is facing even more controversy: a former Pima County Sheriff’s deputy was arrested and charged with one count of kidnapping.
Travis Reynolds, a 22-year-old former sheriff’s deputy, was hit with the charge after the agency says the alleged crime happened while he was at work.
“The Tucson Police Department did arrest 22-year-old Travis Reynolds, a former Pima County Sheriff’s deputy, and charged him with one count of kidnapping in connection with alleged misconduct that reportedly occurred while he was on duty,” the Tucson Police Department said in a statement, according to Fox News.
The sheriff’s office was notified “of the arrest, and the employee was terminated,” the agency said.
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“We don’t have any additional information to provide.”
The complaint said that Reynolds was transporting a woman to jail, and called her “hot,” according to KOLD, who reviewed the complaint.
He claimed he “could help with her case,” and vaped with her while she was handcuffed, the outlet wrote.
Reynolds then allegedly “explained he would not go to court.”
“He also stated they could go to a hotel and have sex.”
He then allegedly showed her sexually explicit clips, and when she asked to go inside the jail, he said no, KOLD wrote.
“She had never been arrested before and did not know the procedural steps, and was unsure what was taking so long.”
“She said she saw multiple officers coming and going with their arrestees, and she was wondering why she was still in the vehicle.”
The victim says he allegedly told her to show him her breasts, and when she showed him her bra, he “removed her from the vehicle and brought her inside the jail.”
Security camera footage from the Pima County Jail matched up with parts of the account, the outlet wrote.
Reynolds then said “he may or may not have been involved in showing her a video of sexual acts. He also stated he may or may not have been involved in the discussion of having sex at a hotel,” according to the complaint.
Just weeks ago, the office was hit with a $1 million suit from an inmate.
Savannah Guthrie’s mom, Nancy, went missing on February 1, with little clues in her case revealed since.
What we know about Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance
A ransom note became public after her disappearance, demanding millions of dollars in Bitcoin.
Savannah has publicly pleaded for anyone with information to come forward in the weeks since, to no avail.
Chris Nanos, the Pima County Sheriff, has faced intense pressure from the public to find Savannah’s mother, a case that has now caught national attention.