Farmington, N.M. – San Juan County sheriffs deputies arrested a Colorado man after an officer discovered a homemade bomb containing bullets inside his broken-down vehicle when the man called for help with because he was stranded.
Ryan Matthew Bowler, 24, of Montrose has been charged with possession of explosives, a misdemeanor.
Bowler had called the sheriffs office from U.S. 550 south of Bloomfield on Tuesday.
A deputy who arrived to help him discovered an outstanding arrest warrant for Bowler and took him into custody.
His vehicle was towed, but police who searched it beforehand discovered a glass bottle containing gunpowder, something that looked like paper and live .22-caliber bullets. The top was wrapped with black electrical tape, and wires extended out the top, the sheriff’s office said.
“It’s never a comforting feeling when you find an explosive device during a search,” said San Juan sheriff’s Sgt. Tyler Truby.
“Its not frequently, but it does happen.” The Farmington Police Department’s bomb unit detonated the homemade bomb.
Truby said the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms was notified.
