Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

ALBUQUERQUE – Travis Hayslip, 36, of Carlsbad, N.M., made his initial appearance today in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., on a criminal complaint charging him with arson. Hayslip remains in custody pending a preliminary hearing and a detention hearing which have yet to be scheduled.

Hayslip was arrested on March 31, 2016, by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) on a federal arson charge. According to the criminal complaint, on March 9, 2016, a fire was ignited and caused an estimated $2 million in damages to the Quality Inn, a hotel that was under construction at 4106 National Parks Highway in Carlsbad in Eddy County, N.M. The complaint alleges that Hayslip walked through a part of the hotel that was under construction and allegedly lit a piece of debris with a lighter.

If convicted of the crime charged in the criminal complaint, Hayslip faces a maximum of life in federal prison. Charges in criminal complaints are merely accusations. All criminal defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Special Agents from the Las Cruces office and the Phoenix Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and members of ATF’s National Response Team worked jointly with the Carlsbad Fire Department, the Carlsbad Police Department, the Pecos Valley Drug Task Force, the Office of New Mexico Fire Marshal, the Office of the New Mexico State Fire Investigator, and Gilbert Police Department K9 Handler, to follow leads, investigate the fire scene, interview witnesses and suspects, and analyze available surveillance footage. Assistant U.S. Attorney Marisa Lizarraga of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office is prosecuting the case.

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