A convicted felon who pleaded guilty to possessing weapons on the property of a New Mexico church has been sentenced to more than four years in federal prison. Nathan Wallace, now 41, was arrested in May 2023 after a sheriff’s deputy found him on the playground at East Mesa Baptist Church in Las Cruces after midnight.
In Wallace’s bag was an 8-inch galvanized pipe containing gunpowder, along with a multi-meter device, batteries, red and black wires, a motion sensor, a fuse, a shotgun shell, and two syringes filled with heroin. Investigators later determined that he had an operational pipe bomb.
Doña Ana County Sheriff Kim Stewart said Wallace’s arrest was not related to two unsolved bombings at Las Cruces churches back in 2015. The FBI continues to investigate those incidents.
Operational Pipe Bomb Found Near NM Church
When questioned in 2023, Nathan Wallace said he didn’t have electricity and rode his bike to East Mesa Baptist Church to charge his laptop. In response to a question about what was in the pipe, he told the deputy, “It’s not drugs, it’s gunpowder.” Wallace also claimed the explosive materials and drugs in his possession “were randomly placed inside his backpack.”
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According to the arrest warrant, Wallace admitted to being a heavy user of meth and said he had used that night. He also told authorities he wasn’t allowed to possess the materials, due to his criminal history.
A judge released Wallace on the day of his arrest. Two months later, he was spotted outside a Las Cruces public school on a weekday. Wallace said he had wanted to plug in his devices; authorities found no explosives or weapons on him that day.
Previously, Wallace has pleaded guilty to shoplifting, forgery, possession of explosive or incendiary device, possession of explosive or incendiary device conspiracy, and receipt, transportation, or possession of a firearm or destructive device by a felon. Federal law prohibits felons from handling or possessing firearms or ammunition.
On Aug. 23, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for New Mexico announced a 52-month sentence for Wallace. After serving his sentence, Wallace will face three years of supervised release. The federal prison system has no parole.
New Mexico Pastor: ‘We’re Pretty Well Protected’
After Wallace was arrested last year, Stephen Kovach, interim pastor of East Mesa, told reporters that the church’s neighborhood is a “fairly impoverished area as far as people.” He added, “We run into people that are troubled, and we try to help them.”
