Man arrested with bomb parts near church. DASO comparing evidence with 2015 bombings
A previous version of this article incorrectly identified East Mesa Baptist Church as Moongate Church. The story has been corrected.
LAS CRUCES – A Las Cruces man faces criminal charges after sheriff's deputies say they found him with a disassembled pipe bomb outside of an area church.
Nathan Wallace, 40, was charged with one count of possession of an explosive or incendiary device. Kim Stewart, sheriff of Doña Ana County, said it remains unknown if Wallace has any connection to the church bombings of 2015.
On Aug. 2, 2015, an unknown person detonated two bombs at Calvary Baptist Church and Holy Cross Catholic Church. A third bomb, which police say malfunctioned, was discovered at First Presbyterian Church. No arrests have been made in the eight years since the bombings.
Stewart said that investigators are currently comparing forensic evidence of the components discovered Wednesday with evidence from the 2015 bombings. She said it would take time before that information is available.
According to an affidavit by Doña Ana County Sherriff's Office Detective Melissa Agello, the incident began when a deputy spotted Wallace placing several items into a bag near East Mesa Baptist Church on Moongate Road Wednesday morning just after midnight.
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Agello said Deputy David Dominguez watched as Wallace placed syringes next to an eight-inch pipe with caps on either end. Dominguez then asked Wallace about the pipe, to which Wallace responded with, "It's not drugs. It's gunpowder." That triggered Dominguez to call the bomb squad.
Agello said a bomb squad technician described the pipe bomb as having caps on either end and a "battery bridge wire assembly used for initiation." The pipe also contained flakes of gunpowder inside, Agello said.
After he was detained and taken back to the DASO headquarters, Agello said Wallace said he was at the church to charge his laptop. He also admitted to posing the parts but said they were "randomly" placed inside his backpack. Agello pushed back, saying the pieces were not random and instead were components necessary to make a bomb.
"(Wallace) stated back he knows what it looks like and knows he is not allowed to have it in his possession," Agello said in the affidavit.
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As for the syringes, Wallace told Agello they contained methamphetamine.
Jail records show Wallace remains in jail as of the publication of this article. Wallace is scheduled for a preliminary hearing in July.
Justin Garcia covers public safety and local government in Las Cruces. He can be reached via email at JEGarcia@lcsun-news.com, via text at 575-541-5449, or on Twitter @Just516Garc.
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