Inset: Melissa Ann Noble (Vanderburgh County Jail). Background: Dollar Depot in Evansville, Indiana (Google Maps).

The event unfolded around 7:30 p.m. on Thursday near the Dollar Depot located on Washington Avenue in Evansville. According to a probable cause affidavit, police were called after a Jeep nearly hit an employee at a gas station just across the street. The employee reported seeing a woman, identified as Melissa Ann Noble, 34, taking a cellphone charger and charging block from the store and then proceeding to the gas station in her Jeep.

The employee crossed the street to confront Noble and capture a photo of her license plate. During this confrontation, Noble allegedly swung a bottle of Hawaiian Punch at him, striking his hand. She then got back into her Jeep, reversed the vehicle with the employee still positioned behind it, as per the affidavit.

Fortunately, the employee managed to leap out of the way. Noble is then said to have shifted gears and swerved towards him in a manner described as aggressive, appearing to attempt to hit him with her vehicle. Afterward, she reportedly drove away from the parking lot.

The employee was able to jump out of the way. Noble then allegedly put the car in drive and swerved toward the employee “in an aggressive manner, as if trying to hit him with the car.” She then drove out of the parking lot.

Officers later spotted Noble”s Jeep and pulled her over. Cops read Noble her Miranda rights, but she refused to say whether she understood them and demanded a lawyer. A passenger inside the vehicle said she didn’t know about the shoplifting, but did confirm to cops that Noble tried to hit the employee at the gas station, the affidavit stated.

Inside the Jeep was the cellphone charger and charging block that were still in the packaging, along with the bottle of Hawaiian Punch. Noble is facing charges of attempted battery with a deadly weapon, battery and shoplifting.

As of Monday afternoon, she remained at the Vanderburgh County Jail without bond. Her next court date is scheduled for Wednesday.