Officer accused of taking cocaine

A California Highway Patrol officer is accused of breaking into an evidence locker and stealing more than $1 million worth of cocaine, prosecutors said.

Joshua Blackburn, 32, broke into the evidence locker room at patrol headquarters in Santa Ana early Friday and made off with several pounds of cocaine, Deputy District Attorney Susan Schroeder said. He was arrested later that day in Riverside County and the cocaine was recovered, she said.

Blackburn was being held on $4 million bail at Orange County Jail. His arraignment hearing is scheduled for Wednesday.

His attorney, John Barnett, declined to comment because he had yet to receive a copy of the police report. An area phone directory listed no number for Blackburn.

A highway patrol officer declined to comment on the case because the investigation is ongoing.

CHICAGO

Vehicle crashes into TV studio

A minivan crashed into the glass exterior wall of a downtown TV studio, jarring the building and startling an anchorman delivering the 10 p.m. news.

No one was injured in the crash Sunday at WLS. The driver, Gerald Richardson, 25, was jailed on charges of causing property damage and reckless driving.

The wreck could be heard on the air and caused anchorman Ravi Baichwal to jump and shout, “Ho!”

The newscast continued, but a camera was turned to show viewers the damage to the outside of the reinforced glass wall, which ordinarily allows passers-by to look into the studio.

Police said the cause of the crash was unclear.

HUNTINGTON, W.Va.

Body confirmed as missing student

A body found in the crawl space of an apartment building was identified Monday as that of a missing Marshall University student.

The death of Leah Hickman, 21, is being investigated as a homicide. But police have refused to say how she died.

Investigators found the body on Friday in a basement laundry room in the building where Hickman lived. The journalism student had disappeared after making a cell phone call Dec. 14, police said.

Her phone is missing, but her keys, purse, car and luggage she had packed for a trip to her parents’ were found in her apartment, police said.

“If it was July it would still be a tragedy, but at this time of the year it’s very hard,” Capt. Steve Hall said.

Out of respect for Hickman, the clothing store in Barboursville where she worked, The Dress Barn, closed on Saturday and Sunday, two of the busiest shopping days of the year.

FORT WORTH, Texas

SUV crashes into Army chief’s house

A man crashed his sport utility vehicle into the home of Army Secretary Pete Geren over the weekend and then shot and killed himself a short time later, Fort Worth police said.

It wasn’t immediately clear if the man, identified as 37-year-old Edward McKee, realized that the house he struck early Sunday morning was that of Geren.

Police said McKee then walked to his own garage about a block away and shot himself in the head.

While police were investigating the crash, McKee’s father came up to them and said he thought his son was involved and had shot himself, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported in its online edition Monday.

Geren, a former Texas congressman, was confirmed as Secretary of the Army in July.

A message left for a telephone listing for Geren was not immediately returned late Monday.