EPD: Man choked gas station clerk during alleged armed robbery

Houston Harwood, Evansville Courier & Press
·1 min read
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EVANSVILLE — Police say an Evansville man choked a gas station clerk until she was unconscious after she offered to pay for items he planned to steal.

Evansville Police Department officers booked 31-year-old Charles Wesley Jones into the Vanderburgh County jail just after 3 a.m. Wednesday.

Jones is preliminarily charged with strangulation, a Level 6 felony, domestic battery with serious bodily injury, a Level 5 felony, misdemeanor possession of marijuana, and possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon, a Level 5 felony.

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An affidavit of probable cause filed Thursday morning describes the circumstances surrounding Jones' arrest.

EPD officers were dispatched to a Marathon gas station at 326 S. Kentucky Ave., at about 1:20 a.m. Wednesday for "suspicious circumstances." While en route, a 911 caller informed dispatchers that the clerk was "crying and shaking," according to the affidavit.

Officers reportedly located Jones attempting to flee the gas station, and police said the female clerk appeared to be shaking. While searching Jones, police allegedly recovered a .380 caliber handgun from his pants pocket.

"The subject quickly stated that he found the weapon in the trash," the affidavit states.

Police also allegedly recovered a small amount of marijuana from inside Jones' hat.

According to the affidavit, the clerk told officers Jones had attempted to steal from the store. She said she told him "no," and that she would pay for the items he was hoping to steal. That's when she said Jones "approached her from behind and choked her until she passed out," the affidavit states.

Jones had a probable cause hearing scheduled for 10 a.m Thursday in Vanderburgh County Superior Court, according to court records.

Houston Harwood can be contacted at walter.harwood@courierpress.com with story ideas and questions. Twitter: @houston_whh

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: EPD: Man choked gas station clerk during alleged armed robbery