PINE ISLAND, Minn. – A townhouse unit was destroyed by a fire that ended a violent domestic dispute that police said began in Rochester and continued 18 miles up U.S Highway 52 to Pine Island. Except for trauma, there were no juries. This, according to police, was what happened:
> Michael Drury, 52, of Rochester, whom police believe was homeless, entered a Rochester house where his ex-woman-friend was staying the night.
> Drury grabbed the woman, who is 44, and forced her to drive to her townhouse in Pine Island. En route he punched her in the head while she was driving.
> At the townhouse about 4 a.m. the woman managed to call 911.
> Police arrived and demanded the man come eout, He didn’t. Then he set the place on fire.
> Flames and smoke forced him out. He was arrested.
Apartment destroyed. Other units un townhouse complex spared.
Drury. The charges: First-degree arson, second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon, kidnapping, threatening violence, false imprisonment, first-degree burglary.