Explosive device found in apartment, former tenant arrested

North Las Vegas police arrested a 27-year-old man Monday after an explosive device was found in an apartment complex from which he was recently evicted .

Richard Mitchell was booked into the North Las Vegas Detention Center on felony charges of possession of an explosive device near a public or private area and possession of prescription drugs without a prescription, police said.

Officers responded about 10 a.m. to a report of a suspicious package in a maintenance shed at 370 Casa Norte Drive, northwest of Craig Road and North Fifth Street.

The Las Vegas Bomb Squad and the All-Hazards Regional Multi-Agency Operations and Response task force responded and confirmed the package was an explosive.

Mitchell was recently evicted, and when apartment maintenance employees entered a shed to clean out his belongings, they discovered the explosive device, police said.

The complex was evacuated for about three hours while authorities investigated .