SUSPECT SWALLOWS POISON IN POLICE STANDOFF

(AP) A 50-year-old marijuana suspect who apparently swallowed poison during
a seven-hour police standoff was in critical condition at a hospital.

DeKalb County Sheriff Cecil Reed said the suspect, Dennis Differ of the
Dogtown community, apparently swallowed a poisonous liquid. Differ was
found unconscious by a SWAT team that entered Differ's house, ending the
standoff on county road 81.

The standoff began about 9:30 a.m. Saturday after pilots with the statewide
marijuana eradication team spotted marijuana plants while flying and ground
crews moved in to cut the plants. The plants were growing in a thicket
about 50 feet behind Differ's house near Ruhama School on Lookout Mountain.

Officers found bags of marijuana inside the house and at least 354 plants
about 14 feet high growing outside. State trooper spokesman Brent Thomas
said Differ is expected to be charged with trafficking