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PUEBLO, Colo. -- A man suspected of trying to blow up a Pueblo police officer's home was in jail Wednesday, following an extensive manhunt across the city.

 

Officers arrested Robert Howard Bruce, 47, at a Kmart in Pueblo on Tuesday evening.

 

Police had been actively looking for him since Pueblo police officer Nathan Pruce found a 30-pound propane tank on Tuesday morning, rigged to pump the explosive gas into his home.

"(Pruce) could hear the hissing when he came out and that's what directed his attention to (the tank)," said Pueblo County Sheriff Kirk Taylor.

 

Police said Pruce, who was leaving for work, called for help after discovering the propane tank with an attached hose next to his attached garage.

 

The officer's wife and children had already left the house by the time Pruce made the discovery.

 

"The Metro Bomb Squad found very high readings of some kind of explosive in the house," said Taylor. "The bomb squad opened doors and windows to vent the substance from the house."

 

Pruce had been scheduled to testify against Bruce in a criminal case on Tuesday. Authorities said Bruce didn't show up for the trial.

 

The incident that Pruce was scheduled to testify about occurred on July 17, 2007, after residents in a Pueblo neighborhood reported a prowler.

 

 

Pruce patrolled the area after finding a chair placed next to the bedroom window of one house. Pruce caught Bruce after a foot and car chase.

 

Bruce was charged with unlawful sexual contact-peeping Tom and second-degree trespassing.

 

An arrest affidavit indicated Pruce found drug paraphernalia and a small amount of marijuana on Bruce when he was arrested.

 

Police and county law enforcement had been looking for Bruce in connection with the discovery of the propane tank, after they learned that Pruce was supposed to testify against him on Tuesday.

 

Gas from a 30-pound propane tank could do extensive damage to a home, according to an expert contacted by ABC affiliate KRDO-TV.

 

"Depending upon how much propane was there, it could go anywhere from lighting a room on fire to explosively blowing the house up," said CSU-Pueblo Chemistry Chair, Professor Dr. David Lehmpuhl.

 

"I don't speak for all the officers in this town, but I can tell you I'm pretty angry about it," Taylor said of the alleged attempt to kill Pruce.

 

Authorities have not said what charges may be filed against Bruce.