Morrow

MORROW, Ga. -- A man dressed as an elf is jailed after police in Georgia say he told a mall Santa that he was carrying dynamite....

A white man accused of beating a black female Army reservist while yelling racial slurs at her outside a suburban Atlanta restaurant was indicted Wednesday on felony charges.

Troy Dale West Jr., 47, of Poulan, Ga., faces one count each of aggravated assault, false imprisonment and first-degree cruelty to children under the indictment filed in Clayton County Superior Court. He also faces two counts each of battery and disorderly conduct, which are misdemeanors.

West's lawyer, Larry King, declined comment.

Police allege that West screamed racial slurs as he kicked and punched Tashawnea Hill, in the presence of Hill's 7-year-old daughter, on Sept. 9 outside a Cracker Barrel restaurant in Morrow, about 15 miles south of Atlanta.

Police have said West became enraged when Hill told him to be careful after he nearly hit her daughter while opening a door. The cruelty to children charge was included because the daughter witnessed the beating.