NEWS
Roswell woman accused of making false bomb threat to airport
Police say woman reported her ex-boyfriend would bring a bomb on American Airlines flight, prompting a search
Published
A woman is accused of calling a Roswell airport to falsely report that her boyfriend was planning to take a bomb on an airplane.
Brooke Ayers, 47, is charged with making a bomb scare, aggravated assault and battery on a police officer, and resisting arrest. She was arrested on a warrant late Wednesday afternoon and does not yet have an attorney.
The U.S. Transportation Security Administration notified the Roswell Police Department around 8:45 a.m. Wednesday that Ayers had called American Airlines and said her ex-boyfriend was going to bring a bomb on the flight, according to a criminal complaint filed in Chaves County Magistrate Court.
An officer who was diverting traffic from the airport saw Ayers鈥� 34-year-old ex-boyfriend as he was on his way to the terminal and detained him, the complaint states.
The man is from Indiana and was in Roswell to visit Ayers, according to a Thursday news release from Todd Wildermuth, spokesperson for the Roswell Police Department.
Police had the man leave behind his items, and the area was blocked off as they waited for the New Mexico State Police bomb squad to search for any signs of explosives, according to the complaint.
鈥淒uring this time, airline passengers were able to safely access the terminal using a different route,鈥� Wildermuth said.
New Mexico State Police were able to confirm there was no evidence of a bomb in the man鈥檚 vehicle.
The man showed police a text message he had received from Ayers in which she said, 鈥淚 have friends at the airport and I will ruin your life,鈥� the complaint states. 鈥淚 do have the ability to (expletive) your whole life up,鈥� Ayers wrote in another text message.
The man told officers the two had broken up the night before. Officers went to Ayers鈥� home in northwest Roswell to speak with her and she told police that her ex-boyfriend had threatened to bomb the airport, according to the complaint.
Ayers told officers that she reported the threat to a friend who worked at the airport, the complaint states. When police attempted to detain her, Ayers allegedly told officers she was going to grab a knife and that they would have to kill her.
Ayers began walking into her house when an officer pulled out a Taser and told her to stop moving, according to the complaint. Police said that after she was placed in handcuffs, Ayers resisted, which caused three officers to physically escort her to a patrol vehicle.
Nakayla McClelland covers crime and breaking news. Reach her at nmcclelland@abqjournal.com or at 505-823-3857.
