San Diego

An unemployed construction worker suspected of raping a Spring Valley woman after her car broke down on Interstate 5 pleaded innocent Wednesday at his arraignment. Besides rape, Nathan Hood, 31, who lives on National Avenue in San Diego, is charged with attempted robbery and kidnaping the 27-year-old secretary for purposes of robbery. The latter charge carries a mandatory life term in state prison. San Diego Municipal Court Judge Richard Hanscom set a preliminary hearing for Feb. 15. Hood remains in County Jail in lieu of $200,000 bail. The woman told a San Diego newspaper that 10 law enforcement cars passed her on Jan. 21 after her car stalled at 6:30 p.m. near an on-ramp to California 94. After waiting four hours, she said she finally accepted a ride from a man, who then pulled a gun and drove to a deserted field, where she was raped. A spokesman for the California Highway Patrol said there was no record of any officer seeing a disabled vehicle on the freeway that night.

A ticking briefcase at San Diego State University was blown up by the city Explosives Ordnance Team at noon Wednesday but it held only a running tape recorder, according to a Fire Department spokesman. The 50 students in the university’s Engineering Building were evacuated as the bomb squad investigated the suspected bomb, which was inside a student locker. An X-ray confirmed the presence of a possible explosive device in the briefcase. But when blown open, the briefcase was found to contain a small tape player that had been making ticking noise because it was still running even though the tape had ended. Daniel Juarez, the owner of the tape recorder and the briefcase, returned to the scene moments after his possessions were destroyed. SDSU officials reportedly have promised to reimburse him for the items.

The Signal Cos. Inc. has awarded a $1.2-million “challenge� grant to the University of San Diego. Speaking at a luncheon meeting of USD Corporate Associates, Signal Chairman Forrest N. Shumway said the La Jolla conglomerate, San Diego’s largest publicly held corporation, will match new or increased corporate contributions on a two-for-one basis, up to $1.2 million. For example, if a company donates $5,000 to USD, Signal will donate $10,000. The grant will be used to help build a $9-million center for USD students.