A controversial YouTuber was hauled away in handcuffs outside the home of missing Arizona grandmother Nancy Guthrie — marking his second arrest near the property in just one week.
Alexander Zabel Jr., 54, was arrested late Thursday afternoon outside Guthrie’s Tucson home while livestreaming for his YouTube channel, CriminalNetwork.
Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of Today show host Savannah Guthrie, vanished in February in a chilling case that has gripped the country and sparked a wave of online speculation.
In Zabel’s livestream, he can be seen sitting on the curb outside the home when Pima County sheriff’s deputies arrive and ask him to stand up.
The situation quickly turns tense.
Deputies tell Zabel he is under arrest, and moments later, they struggle to control him as he repeatedly demands to know what he is being arrested for.
During the chaotic scene, one deputy appears to be knocked to the ground.
After Zabel is placed in handcuffs, another deputy arrives and warns him, “Spit on me and you catch a charge.”
Zabel denied spitting.
The video also appears to show Zabel using a homophobic slur toward one of the officers.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department said neighbors had repeatedly complained about Zabel disrupting the area outside Guthrie’s home.
“Deputies made contact with him, and during the arrest process, a PCSD sergeant was knocked to the ground,” the sheriff’s office said.
Zabel was charged with resisting arrest and public nuisance. He was booked into the Pima County Adult Detention Complex and held overnight ahead of an expected Friday morning court appearance.
The sheriff’s department has made it clear that it wants online sleuths, gawkers, and livestreamers to stay away from the neighborhood as the investigation into Guthrie’s disappearance continues.
This was not Zabel’s first run-in with authorities near the property.
He was also arrested Monday along with two other YouTubers on suspicion of obstruction of a highway or thoroughfare and public nuisance, according to the Arizona Daily Star.
Authorities have said they are stepping up enforcement in the area after complaints from residents.
Guthrie disappeared from her Tucson home on February 1. Authorities said investigators found blood and signs of forced entry at the property.
A masked man carrying a gun was reportedly seen on security footage outside the home around the time of her disappearance.
Despite the disturbing clues, Guthrie has not been found.
The case took another strange turn Thursday when the sheriff’s department addressed reports that Guthrie may be buried in Mexico.
A group that searches for missing people in Mexico reportedly received an anonymous tip claiming Guthrie was buried in an unmarked grave near the U.S.-Mexico border.
But the Pima County Sheriff’s Department said it has not received any official information from Mexican authorities.
“We are aware of reports regarding an anonymous tip related to the Nancy Guthrie investigation that was provided to a group in Mexico. At this time, we have not been contacted by Mexican authorities,” the department said.
Guthrie has now been missing for more than five months.
For her family, the nightmare continues. For investigators, the search goes on. And for neighbors living near the center of the mystery, the sheriff’s department appears ready to crack down on anyone turning the case into a spectacle.
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