Police: Man chokes gas station clerk after trying to steal from store

EVANSVILLE, Ind. (WFIE) - Evansville Police arrested a man on several charges after they say he choked a gas station clerk until she went unconscious.

Officers say they were called to a gas station on S. Kentucky Avenue around 1:20 a.m. Wednesday.

They say a customer called and told them the clerk was crying and shaking and had possibly been hit by another customer.

When officers arrived, they say they found a man trying to run out of the back door, and they believed he may have robbed the store.

Police say the man, Charles Jones, was caught, and they found a gun in his pocket and marijuana under his hat.

They say the clerk was crying, and told them she knew Jones.

Police say she explained Jones was trying to steal from the store. She said she told him “no,” and she would pay for it.

They say she told them he then came up behind her and choked her until she passed out. She said, when she came to, Jones was standing over her yelling.

Police say Jones is a serious violent felon.

His charges include battery, strangulation, and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

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