Suspicious activity investigated in Deming

APD also gets call of suspicious package, no explosives found

The U.S. Attorney’s Office stated in an email its Albuquerque office on Monday received a “suspected” explosive device, which was “detected, isolated, and then safely detonated by law enforcement without injury.”

The announcement came on the heels of New Mexico State Police arresting an unnamed suspect following what sounded like a “loud explosion” Monday morning at the adult probation facility in Deming, police said.

The Deming Police Department responded to the noise at about 7:30 a.m.,” Interim Police Chief Jose Montoya said.

When they arrived, officers found a suspicious device near the entrance of the probation facility. Police then requested State Police’s bomb squad to investigate, Montoya said. It did not look like there was any damage to the building, but “we didn’t get too close to the device,” he said.

“We wanted to keep a safe distance,” Montoya added.

Later Monday morning, in an incident related to the explosion, State Police and the Deming Police Department chased a vehicle westbound on Interstate 10 for a short time before State Police stopped and arrested an unidentified woman. I-10 was closed westbound from mile marker 81 to mile marker 85 for several hours, Montoya said.

There were no reported injuries following the events in Deming, he said.

Meanwhile, about noon Monday, the Albuquerque Police Department received a call of a suspicious package in the Hyatt Regency building.

APD’s bomb squad was activated after the FBI got a call about a the package in the kitchen area of a restaurant nearby, Perdue said.

An office building and restaurant were evacuated, she said.

The package that had been mailed and received at the loading dock at 201 Third St. NW was “remotely” inspected and “all indications show there were no explosives,” APD spokeswoman Franchesca Perdue said.

Based on what happened in Deming earlier, “APD took extra precautions with this incident,” she said.

The FBI is currently leading the investigations in both cases, FBI Albuquerque Office spokeswoman Margot Cravens said.