CARLSBAD, N.M. (AP) - Federal authorities have charged a man with arson after he allegedly started a fire that destroyed a hotel under construction in southeastern New Mexico.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office says 36-year-old Travis Hayslip of Carlsbad made his initial appearance in federal court Friday in Las Cruces.
He will remain in custody pending a preliminary hearing, which has yet to be scheduled. It wasn’t immediately clear if he had an attorney.
Hayslip was arrested Thursday by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives following an investigation into the fire that destroyed the Quality Inn being built along a main highway in Carlsbad.
The fire caused an estimated $2 million in damages.
According to a criminal complaint, Hayslip lit debris with a lighter while walking through part of the hotel.
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