PROVO — Police arrested an intoxicated man who they say punched a woman, threw her down and dragged her around the room by her hair.

The man had been drinking when he began arguing with a woman he invited to the Provo home Monday night, according to a police affidavit. The woman became uncomfortable and tried to use a phone to call 911 or to get a ride home but the man kept slapping the phone out of her hands, police said. The 42-year-old man also threw the homeowner to the ground when he tried to give the woman a phone.

Police said the homeowner was also intoxicated and had several injured ribs so he couldn't defend himself.

When the woman tried to help the intoxicated homeowner up, the man grabbed her and began throwing her around the room while he repeatedly punching the back of the head, her back and legs, according to the affidavit. Amid the punching, police say he dragged the woman by her hair and slammed her face into a solid metal slot machine.

The woman was finally able to escape and asked a neighbor to call 911, police said. Police located the man nearby and arrested him for investigation of aggravated assault.

— Sara Israelsen-Hartley