A woman told dispatchers she had taken cover as police say a stranger continued maneuvering a car toward her in Marietta.
MARIETTA, Ga. — Hiding behind a trash container at an apartment complex, a woman on the phone with 911 told a dispatcher she was in a safe place as police say a stranger who had already driven toward her more than once continued an alleged vehicle attack on the morning of July 19.
The short exchange with the dispatcher is one of the clearest contemporaneous details made public about the case. “Yes, I’m behind a garbage can,” the woman said when asked whether she was safe, according to audio reported by Law&Crime. Police and a criminal warrant describe the object as a dumpster. Investigators say the woman had gone there after fleeing a car that was deliberately driven toward her. The man accused in the episode, 21-year-old Jesse Allen Davis, was later arrested on charges of felony aggravated assault and misdemeanor hit-and-run.
By the time the 911 conversation occurred, police say the incident had already moved through several parts of the Sedgefield Apartments property. The woman had been out exercising that Sunday morning when she encountered Davis, a person authorities say she did not know. She greeted him and continued on. A criminal warrant cited in later reporting called the exchange brief and polite. Davis then allegedly got into a parked 2004 Nissan Sentra. Investigators have not said that an argument preceded the alleged pursuit or that the two had any earlier dispute.
The first alleged approach did not end with the woman taking cover. According to the warrant, Davis started the Nissan and drove directly toward her at a high rate of speed. Another driver then moved into the Nissan’s path and forced Davis to stop before he could allegedly reach the woman. That intervention gave her an opportunity to run, the warrant says. She headed toward her residence rather than remaining where the initial approach occurred. Authorities allege Davis did not simply drive away after being blocked.
Police say Davis instead followed the woman toward Commons Lane and steered the car at her again. She ran onto a sidewalk and moved behind the dumpster. That location became a barrier between her and the vehicle and the place from which she contacted emergency dispatchers. Cobb County Police Sgt. Eric Smith later summarized the sequence by saying Davis initially tried to strike the woman in the parking lot and then attempted to strike her two more times. The public reports do not disclose how long the episode lasted from the greeting to the final alleged attempt.
The warrant alleges the third approach came while the woman was still using the dumpster as cover. Investigators say Davis yelled profanities, maneuvered the Nissan and again tried to reach her with the car before leaving. Police have not publicly identified a motive. They also have not said that anything happened between the greeting and Davis entering the vehicle that would explain the alleged escalation. Because the motive remains unknown, descriptions suggesting the greeting itself caused the alleged attack go beyond what investigators have established; the greeting is the last publicly described interaction before the driving began.
The movement of the Nissan also drew the attention of another resident. Lloydethan White told WSB-TV that the car nearly hit his vehicle and the woman. White said he spoke with the woman afterward, although he did not initially know the full extent of what she had reported to police. His comments provide an account of part of the driving from someone other than the woman, but authorities have not released all witness statements or said precisely which portions of the alleged sequence White saw.
Another collision became the basis for the second charge against Davis. A separate criminal warrant reported by Fox News alleges that the gray Nissan struck a gray Ford Fusion and that Davis did not immediately stop or return to the scene. That allegation led to the misdemeanor hit-and-run charge. The aggravated assault accusation centers on the allegation that Davis intentionally used the car in an attempt to strike the woman. Both allegations remain unproven, and the charges themselves are not findings of guilt.
The car’s path apparently continued beyond the apartment complex. Smith said police received another 911 call a short time later reporting that the same vehicle had crashed into a pole nearby. Officers subsequently arrested Davis. His booking photograph, reproduced by several news outlets, showed cuts on his face. Authorities have not publicly issued a detailed account of the pole collision or a medical report explaining the injuries visible in that image. There has also been no public indication in the reports reviewed that anyone in the other car suffered serious injuries.
Reporting on the woman’s physical condition has been less consistent than reporting on the alleged pursuit. Some later accounts said she was struck during the episode, while the detailed warrant account reported by Fox News says another vehicle prevented the first alleged strike and describes her avoiding the second and third attempts. Because the underlying public accounts do not fully reconcile that point, this article does not state as established fact that Davis’ car struck her. Officials have not released a medical description of injuries to the woman in the material reviewed.
There has also been a change in publicly reported bond information. Law&Crime’s July 30 account said Davis was taken to the Cobb County Jail without bond and that no next court date was listed. Reporting published later and citing jail records listed a total bonding amount of $5,720. The difference may reflect a change after the initial booking, but the available reports do not document when or why it changed. They also do not establish his current jail status as of Sept. 8, and no later disposition of the charges was located in the sources reviewed.
What remains most firmly documented is the sequence alleged by police: an ordinary encounter between strangers, a woman fleeing a moving car, multiple alleged approaches by the same driver, her decision to use a dumpster as protection and the 911 call made from behind it. Investigators have not supplied a motive or publicly described a prior relationship between the two. Those unanswered questions do not change Davis’ legal status: He is accused, not convicted, and the state’s allegations must be tested through the criminal court process.
Author note: Last updated September 8, 2026.