Arrest made in connection with pipe bomb at hit-and-run collision scene

A 53-year-old man has been arrested in connection with a pipe bomb found at the scene of a December hit-and-run collision in Sacramento.

The Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office issued an arrest warrant Thursday for Alan Davis for allegedly possessing a destructive device in a public place, according to a Sacramento Police Department news release. Davis was already in custody following his arrest Jan. 25 on unrelated charges, police said.

Davis is being held at the Rio Cosumnes Correctional Center in lieu of $1.145 million bail, according to inmate information available online.

The latest charge stems from a Dec. 17 hit-and-run collision at 65th Street and Broadway in Sacramento that involved what was described as a 1980s or 1990s full-size Chevrolet van, according to the Police Department news release.

The van left the scene after the collision, but several bags fell off the vehicle into the roadway. When officers arrived, they found a live pipe bomb in one of the bags. The Police Department’s bomb squad was called to the scene and after several hours of planning, they rendered it safe, according to the news release.

Later that night, police issued a description of the suspect van to local and national media outlets. Several days later, a member of the public spotted a van matching the description in a nearby parking lot and reported it to police.

The van was determined to be the one involved in the hit-and-run collision, and information obtained early in the investigation indicated the property that fell out of the van belonged to a man named Alan Davis, the news release said.

Police said officers received several tips during their investigation from people in the community through Sacramento Valley Crime Stoppers, and those tips helped corroborate the evidence they had of Davis’ involvement.

Sacramento County Superior Court records available online show Davis has a lengthy criminal history dating back to 1987. Prior to the current case, he pleaded no contest to vehicle theft in 2013 and was sentenced to four years in prison. He is to be arraigned on the latest charges Monday.

Police ask anyone with information regarding the December hit-and-run collision to call the department’s dispatch center at 916-264-5471 or Sacramento Valley Crime Stoppers at 916-443-4357. Anonymous tips also may be submitted using the free “P3 Tips” smartphone app.

This story was originally published February 3, 2017 at 5:45 PM with the headline "Arrest made in connection with pipe bomb at hit-and-run collision scene."