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Explosives found in Denver hotel; man with local connections arrested in LA

Posted at 5:21 PM, Feb 16, 2017
and last updated 2017-02-17 01:06:38-05

LOS ANGELES – A Denver man was arrested in Los Angeles Thursday in connection with possible pipe bombs found in a downtown Denver hotel.

Adam Hayat, an American citizen of Pakistani descent, was found with knives in his possession after apparently flying to L.A. from Denver, ABC News reported.

Federal sources told Denver7 Investigates that police discovered the unexploded devices inside a safe in the Sheraton Hotel, where the suspect was staying.

“Police called this morning from Denver, and I talked to them,” Sultan Hayat, Adam Hayat's father, told Denver7's Jaclyn Allen. “They said that he had run up a bill of $10,000 since Dec. 26 at a Denver hotel."

Sources told Denver7 Investigates that the unpaid bill tipped off investigators. When they went to the hotel room, they found a note written on the mirror in lipstick referencing PTSD and pipe bombs in the room's safe.
 
Investigators then tracked his cell phone to California, where he was staying in a Holiday Inn on La Cienega, a major north-south boulevard in Los Angeles.  
 
Sultan Hayat said his son has a long history of mental health problems, including PTSD, bipolar disorder and ADD.

“Police said he had bought some firearms, and they were concerned that he may hurt himself or someone else,” said Sultan Hayat. "I was very surprised."

The suspect's father also said he hasn’t spoken to Hayat in several months, but he said his son is homeless and has been estranged from the family for years.

Sultan Hayat added that his son joined the Marines out of high school, serving in Japan and Korea, as well as Iraq.

"He has collected hunting knives since he was young," said Sultan Hayat when told knives had reportedly been in his son's possession. "He likes them."

The 35-year-old veteran reportedly sent a letter to the VA about five years ago, complaining he wasn't being listened to, sources close to the investigation told ABC News. 

Investigators on Thursday were also trying to determine whether Hayat was on the radar of law enforcement agencies.

Hayat is expected to be brought from California to Denver to face charges, according to a high-level Denver7 Investigates source. It can take weeks to move a defendant between states.

A employee who answered the guest services line at the Sheraton hotel told Denver7 investigative reporter Jace Larson that everything was back to normal at the hotel and that the hotel was operating normally following an initial investigation.

It appears Hayat has lived in Denver since at least 2012.

Court records show Hayat was cited for violating a curfew at Civic Center Park in the summer of 2012. 

A Colorado Secretary of State document also shows Hayat registered a landscaping firm -- Lard Landscaping  LLC -- using the address of the St. Francis Center, a homeless shelter located at 2323 Curtis Street in Denver, in 2013.

Tony Kovaleski, Jace Larson, Jaclyn Allen and the Denver7 Investigates team contributed to this report. 

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