DNA has ledd to a Decatur man being charged with raping a LaGrange woman four years ago in Southview Cemetery off Hamilton Road.

Dexter Bernard Thomas, 38, was charged with aggravated assault, aggravated sodomy and rape after allegedly beating and raping the woman in 2006.

“We recently got a DNA match back on this person,” said LaGrange police Sgt. Roger Pointer.

The victim had been put out of a vehicle by a group of friends and was passing through the cemetery when she was grabbed by her assailant and assaulted.

“She was taken to the hospital,” where an investigation began, Pointer said.

Pointer said Thomas may have been in prison for another incident. At some point, his blood was drawn and checked through other cold cases across the state.

“We came back with a (DNA) match regarding this sexual assault,” Pointer said.

Woman saved by screams and kicks

A woman saved herself from being at the LaGrange Farmer’s Market at 606 Greenville St. by screaming.

The woman said she was trying to get her car keys from her purse by leaning into the car about 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, when a man walked up behind her, grabbed her shoulders and told her to give him all her money.

The woman turned around and began screaming, kicking at the man, who said, “I’m just playing, I’m just playing,” before fleeing.

The assailant wasn’t located.

Man tells woman he’s going to punch her

A man told a woman to call police because he was going to punch her before he assaulted her.

Police said the two were lying in bed about 5 a.m. Wednesday when he told her to get up. The woman refused, saying she was still tired.

The man told her that he was going to hit her whether she called the police or not, so she had better go ahead and call them. He then struck her in the eye and bit her on the neck.

The woman stayed somewhere else that night.

Arrests

n Lakeldric Deandreus Anderson, 25, of Oak Street was charged with child molestation.

n Matthew Dunlap, 23, of Church Avenue in Pine Mountain was charged by LaGrange police with a warrant from Pine Mountain police for possession of cocaine with intent to distribute.

Damage

A vandal shattered the passenger-side window of a vehicle at a body shop in the 700 block of Hamilton Road.

Thefts, burglaries

A JVC car stereo valued at $250 was stolen from an unlocked vehicle in the West Georgia Medical Center parking lot at 1514 Vernon Road.

n It is the policy of LaGrange Daily News to print the names of people charged with felonies.