Arizona man allegedly paralyzed by Nancy Guthrie sheriff's deputies after alleged swatting call demands $176M

An Arizona man who says a "swatting" call ended with deputies' bullets leaving him partially paralyzed is now demanding $176 million from the Pima County Sheriff's Department.Axeel Melendez, 24, and his mother, Carmen Melendez, recently filed a notice of claim against the Pima County Sheriff's Office and Sheriff Chris Nanos, signaling their intent to sue, according to Arizona Public Media.Dev Sethi, who is representing Melendez, told the outlet that the man and his mother were swatted, prompting a massive law enforcement response at their house.Swatting is a criminal prank where individuals place fake calls to 911 for a specific location with the goal of getting a law enforcement response to that location.ROMANIAN NATIONAL LEARNS FATE FOR SWATTING US OFFICIALS, INCLUDING MEMBERS OF CONGRESS, JUDGESPima County Sheriff Chris Nanos gives an update on the investigation after the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie on Feb.

5, 2026.(Rebecca Noble/Reuters)"Our justice system recognizes the dignity of a human life and the importance of the completeness of your body.

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.FOLLOW THE FOX TRUE CRIME TEAM ON XSomeone impersonating Melendez initially called 311, a non-emergency number, on April 10 and said his father shot his sister, giving the address for Melendez.NANCY GUTHRIE RANSOM DEMANDS RELEASED BY PIMA COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT IN BID TO IDENTIFY SENDER"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," Sethi said.Sethi said the call was made from an out of state area code and added the caller didn't pronounce Melendez's first name correctly.SIGN UP TO GET THE LATEST TRUE CRIME NEWSPima County Sheriff Chris Nanos speaks with a reporter in his office on Thursday, July 30, 2026.

(Kat Ramirez for Fox News Digital, Matt Finn...