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LAS CRUCES 鈥� Allegedly, David Curtis set up his camping trailer on a patch of land near Tortugas Dam flood pool. From Dripping Springs Avenue, one could even make out the wooden fence surrounding the camper on Friday 鈥� a fence lined with barbed wire and 鈥渘o trespassing鈥� signs.

In April, the Elephant Butte Irrigation District, which owns the property, served a notice for Curtis to leave the property and is now seeking a court order to remove him.

Meanwhile, Curtis, 46, is in custody at the Do帽a Ana County Detention Center facing a felony charge after allegedly setting off pipe bombs in the area.

The irrigation district manages the Rio Grande distribution system for members holding water rights in the region. In district court filings, EBID complained that in addition to trespassing and interfering with management of the Tortugas Dam, Curtis has been 鈥渁 menace to the area,鈥� requiring multiple police responses 鈥渇or exposing himself and acting inappropriately while teams such as the University Rodeo team practice in the area.鈥�

The lot is adjacent to New Mexico State University veterinary and rodeo facilities and across the road from a residential neighborhood.

鈥淣MSU (police) officers were dispatched to an area of the desert south of the New Mexico Farm & Ranch Heritage Museum on the evening of June 9 after reports of two explosions near an RV camper west of the rodeo facility,鈥� NMSU Police Chief Justin Dunivan said in a statement.

Police encountered two men later identified as Curtis and his adult son. With assistance from the Las Cruces Police Department and the Do帽a Ana County Sheriff鈥檚 Office bomb squad, police executed a search warrant and allegedly found piping, chemicals and other material needed for explosive devices including fuses, as well as a book titled 鈥淏lasters鈥� Handbook.鈥� A crater was also located in the area where a witness reported seeing an explosion.

Curtis was charged with possession of an explosive or incendiary device, a fourth-degree felony with a potential penalty of 18 months in prison. The son was detained but not arrested or charged.

EBID has held the title for a flood pool area since 1960, according to court filings, while police said Curtis insisted the property belongs to his family.

State District Judge Douglas Driggers granted prosecutors鈥� request to hold Curtis through his trial, finding that he was dangerous and that no conditions of release would reasonably protect public safety.

In addition to the evidence gathered when Curtis was arrested, prosecutors and EBID testified in court about Curtis鈥� behavior through his arrest and detention as well as previous criminal history, including a conviction in Texas for possession of stolen explosive materials.

Driggers noted in his ruling that prosecutors alleged Curtis displayed 鈥渧iolent tendencies鈥� by kicking a police unit door while he was held inside, screaming, throwing food across his holding cell and threatening detention center staff.

The case remains pending as it moves through the court system, while the trailer continues to sit in the flood pool area among creosote and other vegetation.

Algernon 顿鈥橝尘尘补蝉蝉补 is the Journal鈥檚 southern New Mexico correspondent. He can be reached at adammassa@abqjournal.com.