Man Arrested In Bomb Hoax Allegedly Claimed He Worked For CIA

A man accused of having a hoax bomb at the Bridge of the Americas allegedly told border officers that he worked for the CIA, court records show.

About 1 p.m. Tuesday, officers with Customs and Border Protection officers noticed a suspicious package on the counsel of a northbound 1989 Chevrolet pickup driven by 73-year-old David Leroy Huebner of Juarez. According to a complaint affidavit, the package had blue plastic wrapping, with a cassette tape and cellphone taped to it, as well as wires protruding from it.

Huebner was immediately taken into custody and placed in a holding cell.

Officers moved the truck to a secondary inspection area, and the the El Paso Police Department’s Bomb Squad was called to investigate. It was ultimately determined that the package did not pose any danger, but rather was designed to appear as an explosive device.

As per Homeland Security protocol, the international bridge was shut down did not open again until 5:39 p.m. Tuesday.

While in custody, Huebner allegedly told authorities he worked for the CIA and that Mexican authorities told him to put the device in a truck that was waiting for him at some rest area. Huebner also told authorities that the truck was going to a warehouse, where a bomb threat would be called in and the responding authorities would find narcotics.

Huebner was arrested on suspicion of having a hoax bomb, a Class A misdemeanor. He was booked into the El Paso County Jail with bond set at $700.