Eminem's mom and ex-wife grab the headlines

A 16-year-old boy dragged Eminem's mother from her car on the street made infamous by the rapper's movie 8 Mile, according to police.

The teenager was arrested shortly after the hijacking last week as he tried to flee from police on foot in the Detroit suburb, and the car was recovered.

Police said Debbie Nelson (49) was sitting in her Honda Accord at a petrol station on Eight Mile Road at 11.30pm when a person approached her window with a silver handgun and demanded she get out.

Nelson said the attacker grabbed her by the hair and arm.

"For this to be a kid - it broke my heart," she said.

Nelson said she tried to contact her son, whose real name is Marshall Mathers III, but 'he apparently must not be in town'.

Nelson's rocky relationship with her son has been no secret since the rapper became a star. Eminem's disparaged his mother in songs such as Cleaning Out My Closet. Nelson brought and settled two defamation lawsuits over Eminem's statements about her in magazines and on radio talk shows.

Police arrested James Antonio Knott of Detroit about a mile from the petrol station after he became stuck in traffic and attempted to flee.

The teenager was charged as an adult with hijacking and armed robbery Friday and is being held in lieu of R1-million cash bond, said police, who did not believe the hijacker recognised Nelson. - Sapa-AP

- Kimberly Mathers, ex-wife of Eminem, has been sentenced to two years' probation after pleading guilty to a drug charge and a driving offence, prosecutors said.

Mathers (28) pleaded guilty last month to a charge of possessing 25g or less of cocaine and failing to give adequate space to an emergency vehicle.

In exchange for the guilty pleas, the judge dismissed a third charge of driving with a suspended licence and a charge of maintaining a drug house, said David Portuesi from the prosecutor's office.

She was sentenced last week and, as conditions of her probation, she may not use alcohol or nonprescription drugs and must undergo random drug testing and treatment, Portuesi said.

The charges will be dismissed if Mathers successfully completes probation. The judge told Mathers he would send her to jail if she violated any of the terms. - Sapa-AP