Prosecutors are seeking to keep David J. Curtis jailed pending trial, arguing no release conditions would protect the community.

Damien Willis, Organ Mountain News

LAS CRUCES - Prosecutors are seeking to keep a Las Cruces man jailed pending trial after investigators said they found bomb-making materials, chemicals and an explosives handbook at a desert trailer site south of the New Mexico Farm & Ranch Heritage Museum, near “A” Mountain.

David J. Curtis, 46, is charged with one fourth-degree felony count of possession of an explosive device or incendiary device, according to court records filed in Doña Ana County Magistrate Court.

The charge stems from a June 9 report of a man living in a trailer in the desert area south of 4100 Dripping Springs Road and detonating pipe bombs, according to a statement of probable cause filed by NMSU police Detective R. Hall.

A reporting party told dispatchers he had seen two men in the desert after hearing an explosion. The person later said he watched another explosion through a telescope, according to the probable cause statement.

NMSU police responded and set up a perimeter around the area where the explosion was reported. Officers saw two men walking back and forth around a property that was fenced and posted with “no trespassing” signs, according to court records.

Curtis allegedly tried to leave the area and refused to identify himself when officers stopped him for questioning. He was detained at the scene.

According to the probable cause statement, officers also encountered a woman who arrived in a truck and dropped off wooden pallets, as well as a man identified in court records as Curtis’ son. The documents reviewed by Organ Mountain News do not show either person was charged in connection with the case.

Investigators said a Las Cruces Police Department drone was used to canvass the area. The drone reportedly spotted a crater on the northeast end of the property, which police said aligned with the witness report of an explosion in that area. The drone also reportedly spotted a red fire extinguisher in a blue barrel with several wires.

Hall obtained a search warrant for a trailer home on the property, which the probable cause statement said was identified as belonging to the Elephant Butte Irrigation District.

During the search, investigators said they found a copper pipe with a fuse hidden underneath an RV, along with unknown chemicals, sulfur, aluminum powder, hydrochloric acid and potassium chloride, according to court records.

NMSU police also reported finding an empty copper pipe with a fuse and a book titled “Blasters Handbook,” which investigators said contained instructions on how to make explosives.

Public safety bomb technicians told investigators that if the recovered chemicals were combined in the pipe, Curtis would have had a working explosive device, according to the probable cause statement.

“The above-named defendant had all the materials needed to create a ready-to-use explosive device and instruction manual,” Hall wrote in the probable cause statement.

Prosecutors filed an expedited motion for pretrial detention, arguing Curtis poses a danger to the community and that no conditions of release would reasonably protect others.

“The defendant was witnessed using explosive devices out in the desert,” prosecutors wrote. “Deputies with the Doña Ana Sheriff’s Office bomb Squad also found hordes of explosive device building materials and literature on how to build explosive devices.”

In an amended detention filing, prosecutors said bomb technicians described the recovered materials as consistent with an improvised explosive device. The filing also said copper tubing, if exploded, could create shrapnel and cause lethal injuries.

In the amended detention motion, prosecutors also cited statements they attributed to Curtis, including claims that law enforcement was targeting him over a wrongful traffic ticket and that he would not speak with police or federal agents. Prosecutors argued those statements, combined with the alleged bomb-making materials, supported their claim that Curtis poses a danger that could not be addressed through release conditions.

Prosecutors also cited Curtis’ criminal history, including prior convictions and failures to appear in court.

A Public Safety Assessment completed June 10 did not flag the current charge as a violent offense and listed the New Violent Criminal Activity flag as “No.” The assessment recommended PML 2, a release-monitoring level. Prosecutors are nevertheless asking a district judge to detain Curtis pending trial.

A detention hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, June 17, in Third Judicial District Court.

Curtis was booked into the Doña Ana County Detention Center at 7:21 a.m. June 10. The booking report lists NMSU police as the arresting agency and shows Curtis was initially held without bond.

Court records show prosecutors intend to present the case to a grand jury.

Damien Willis is founder and editor of Organ Mountain News. If you have a personal story to share or a lead we should follow up on, reach out at OrganMountainNews@gmail.com or connect with him on X at @damienwillis.