Aggravated assault and hit-and-run allegations arise from different parts of a July encounter involving a jogger, a Nissan and another vehicle.
MARIETTA, Ga. — The two charges filed against Jesse Allen Davis arise from separate allegations during the same chaotic morning: police say he repeatedly used a Nissan Sentra to threaten a woman on foot, then struck another vehicle and failed to stop before the car later crashed into a pole.
Davis, 21, is accused of felony aggravated assault and misdemeanor hit-and-run in connection with the July 19 incident at Sedgefield Apartments in Cobb County. The assault allegation concerns what authorities describe as three intentional attempts to drive toward a woman who had been exercising at the complex. The hit-and-run case stems from a collision with a Ford Fusion during the episode, according to a separate warrant cited by Fox News. Davis was arrested afterward and booked into the Cobb County Jail. Nothing in the available reporting indicates that he has been convicted of either charge.
The aggravated assault accusation begins with an interaction that police have portrayed as uneventful. The woman encountered Davis while she was exercising and offered a morning greeting. Investigators said she did not know him. A criminal warrant described the contact as brief and polite. She then continued on her route. Davis allegedly entered a parked 2004 Nissan Sentra and started driving. Police have not publicly identified a dispute, threat or argument before he got into the car, and they have not announced any motive for what they say happened next.
According to the warrant, Davis drove directly toward the woman at a high rate of speed in the first alleged attempt. A different driver entered the Nissan’s path, forcing Davis to stop before reaching her, the warrant says. The woman ran toward her residence. That detail is important to the assault allegation because investigators characterize the driving as intentional rather than an accidental near-collision. Whether prosecutors can prove intent will ultimately depend on evidence presented in court, and the public reports do not include Davis’ account of the incident.
The woman did not remain in the same place after the first approach. She fled toward Commons Lane, but investigators say Davis followed in the car and intentionally drove toward her a second time. She moved onto a sidewalk and sought protection behind a dumpster. While there, she called 911. When a dispatcher asked whether she had reached a safe location, she answered, “Yes, I’m behind a garbage can,” according to an excerpt reported by Law&Crime. Police say the alleged pursuit continued even after she had taken cover.
The third alleged attempt occurred around that hiding place, according to the warrant. Authorities say Davis yelled profanities, maneuvered the Sentra and tried once more to drive at the woman before leaving the immediate area. Cobb County Police Sgt. Eric Smith gave a similar summary to WSB-TV, saying Davis made an initial attempt to strike the woman and then two additional attempts. Police have not released the full emergency call or the full investigative file, so the public record available through news reports does not show every movement of the car or the precise timing of each alleged approach.
The misdemeanor case concerns a different alleged victim of Davis’ driving: the owner or driver associated with another car. A separate warrant says the gray Nissan collided with a gray Ford Fusion and that Davis did not immediately stop or return to the collision scene. Georgia authorities therefore charged him with hit-and-run in addition to aggravated assault. Publicly available reports do not give a repair estimate for the Ford, identify its driver or describe significant injuries from that collision. Those omissions are important because the known facts should not be expanded beyond what investigators and records have disclosed.
A nearby resident, Lloydethan White, also encountered the moving Nissan during part of the episode. White told WSB-TV that Davis almost hit his car and the woman. He checked on her afterward but said he did not initially appreciate what she had been through. White’s observations are relevant because they provide an independent description of at least some aggressive driving, but police have not said whether he saw each of the three alleged approaches described in the warrant. His comments therefore support only the portion of the event he said he witnessed.
After Davis left the parking area, the same Nissan was involved in another incident, according to police. Smith said officers received a second 911 report not long afterward that the vehicle had crashed into a pole nearby. Police arrested Davis, whose booking photograph showed several facial cuts. No public report reviewed for this article explains the precise circumstances of the pole crash, whether speed or another factor caused it, or the medical severity of Davis’ injuries. The crash itself is not identified in the available reporting as a separate criminal charge.
The legal posture also changed after the earliest account of the arrest. Law&Crime reported on July 30 that Davis had been taken to the Cobb County Jail without bond. Later reports citing jail records listed a total bonding amount of $5,720. The newer figure appears to reflect a later stage in the booking or bond process, but the public reports do not explain the change. They also do not provide a verified current custody status, a later court date, the name of defense counsel or a plea entered after the arrest.
One factual point remains unclear in published coverage: whether the Nissan actually made contact with the woman. Some later news accounts described her as being struck, while the more detailed warrant chronology reported by Fox News says the first approach was blocked by another driver and that she avoided the later attempts by running to the sidewalk and hiding. Without the underlying records resolving that conflict, the supported allegation is that Davis tried to strike her three times. Officials have not released a detailed injury report for the woman.
The distinction between allegation and proof is central as the case proceeds. Prosecutors would have to establish the elements of the charged offenses with admissible evidence, while Davis may challenge the state’s account, intent evidence, witness testimony or other parts of the case. Police have not identified a motive and have not publicly described any relationship between Davis and the woman before their encounter. As of the latest material reviewed, the charges remain the principal confirmed legal consequence of the July 19 episode.
Author note: Last updated September 8, 2026.