BAY MINETTE, Ala. — A Bay Minette man was convicted of first-degree rape last week after allegedly assaulting a female after the two smoked pot in her car July 30, 2008.

Joe Nathan Thomas, 31, of Means Avenue, was arrested hours later, after Bay Minette police interviewed the victim at North Baldwin Infirmary, according to court testimony.

Prosecutor Patrick Prendergast told jurors the victim received a call from Thomas about 2 a.m. to drive around town to purchase and smoke marijuana.

The two smoked and talked in the car for a few hours before Thomas made sexual advances.

Prendergast said Thomas attempted forcible sex in the car, but the two fell out of the open driver’s side door.

“He throws her down, drags her to a park swing, then rapes her,” the prosecutor said.

The victim testified she hit Thomas several times during the struggle and finally became tired.

“I figured if I stopped fighting, he would stop, but he didn’t,” the victim said. She said she gathered her clothes, heard Thomas yell, “Don’t tell on me,” then drove to North Baldwin Infirmary.

Emergency room personnel described the victim as “very quiet and distraught.” She has abrasions on her back, arms and legs, according to testimony.

Defense attorney Calli Armstrong argued that the two had an ongoing relationship and that she had called Thomas, and the two had been together since about 10:30 p.m.

Armstrong said no semen was found during a hospital exam and that during an interview two hours after the alleged incident, Thomas requested a DNA test.