Law & order

Woman halts attacker with box of detergent

ARAB - A woman thwarted an attempted purse-snatching early Saturday by hitting her attacker with laundry detergent.

According to Arab police, the woman said the incident happened around 2:50 a.m. at a laundromat at the intersection of U.S. 231 and Alabama 69. The woman said she was loading her freshly washed clothes into her car when an "older" man with gray or white hair came up to her and tried to grab her purse. A strap on the purse broke but, still hanging on to it, she then began hitting the man with a box of laundry detergent.

However, she said the next thing she knew, she was hit in the face with a solid metal object and the man ran away.

Police took the woman to Marshall Medical Center North for treatment.

Decatur man accusedof cocaine trafficking

DECATUR - A two-year investigation into drug trafficking resulted in Saturday's arrest of a Decatur man following a short chase, Decatur police said in a statement Sunday.

Michael Dewayne "Donut" Peterson, 40, of 1925 Old Moulton Road was charged with cocaine trafficking, possession of drug paraphernalia and resisting arrest. Peterson's bond is set at $3,500.

On Saturday, the police department's organized crime unit, special response team and anticrime unit raided homes at 121 Old Trinity Road, 161 Old Trinity Road and 171 Old Trinity Road, police said. The homes are linked to Peterson, police said.

When police entered the home at 161 Old Trinity Road, Peterson ran out the back door but was apprehended a short distance away.

by:www.al.com