NEW YORK (AP) – Police say a soldier has been arrested after a Long Island MacArthur Airport baggage inspector found a loaded handgun in her luggage.

Suffolk County police say a federal Transportation Security Administration agent spotted the four-inch revolver in Army Spc. Vonda Collier’s checked bag Sunday while conducting routine inspections.

The 38-year-old from San Antonio, Texas, was arrested on a charge of criminal possession of a weapon. She is to be arraigned Monday.

Police say Collier was on leave and scheduled to take a Southwest Airlines flight to Texas.

Police don’t know whether Collier has a lawyer. Her father, Heyward Collier of San Antonio, says he hasn’t heard from her about her arrest and doesn’t know why she was on Long Island.

The Defense Department has no immediate information. Collier’s father says she joined the Army about eight years ago.

AP-ES-10-19-08 1720EDT