A would-be armed robber may have thought she picked an easy target: a children’s clothing store with no one inside but the 53-year-old owner.

But the suspect, Jessica M. Roberts, 24, of Butler, thought wrong.

“I told her, ‘You picked the wrong (expletive) woman to mess with,’” Debbi Ruth testified Monday at Roberts’ preliminary hearing.

Not only didn’t Ruth capitulate to Roberts’ demand for money, but she chased the alleged crook out of the downtown Butler store and down the street, nearly making the arrest herself.

“I don’t play the victim very well,” Ruth said after the hearing. “I’m a tough old bird.”

District Judge Pete Shaffer, after listening to Ruth recount what happened last week at her Ruffles and Truffles store on South Main Street, ordered Roberts held for court on a charge of robbery.

Roberts remains in the Butler County Prison on $5,000 bail.

Ruth testified that she was at work about 1 p.m. Sept. 16 when Roberts walked in, browsed a bit and then left. Ruth had never seen the woman in her store before.

Ten minutes later, the same woman returned. She had something pointing out of a back pants pocket, Ruth recalled.

Roberts approached the cash register, keeping her right hand behind her back and in her right jeans pocket. The suspect hesitated, saying nothing at first.

“It was like someone having an emotional fight themself,” Ruth said in describing Roberts’ demeanor.

Eventually, Roberts spoke, claiming to have a knife and telling Ruth to hand over the store’s receipts; but not before almost apologizing.

“I really don’t want to do this,” Roberts allegedly said. “I have a knife in my pocket. You need to open the register and give me all of your money.”

The feisty Ruth would have none of it. Instead of being intimidated, she turned intimidator. She walked around the counter to confront the would-be robber.

“I was coming at her. I meant to shock her,” Ruth testified. The bold maneuver apparently worked.

“She lost her nerve,” Ruth said of Roberts. “She said, ‘I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m leaving.’ I said, ‘No you’re not.’”

But the suspect ran out of the store. Ruth gave chase, yelling to bystanders: “Stop her. Stop her.”

The owner eventually caught up to Roberts, grabbing her arm, and asked why she did what she did at the store.

“She said, ‘Why do you think?’” Ruth testified. “And I said, ‘Drugs.’”

Roberts allegedly affirmed that reply.

Roberts then pulled away from Ruth, coming out of her hooded sweat shirt and running a second time. Ruth again gave chase.

This time, police stepped in and found Roberts not far away in a South Main Street apartment building.

When officers caught her, they found a kitchen knife in a pocket, according to court documents.

Following testimony, Roberts’ attorney, public defender Charles Nedz, told Shaffer that he planned to seek drug rehabilitation treatment for his client.

Outside the courtroom, Ruth seemed to hold no ill will for Roberts and even wished her well.

“I’ve had experience with people in my own family on drugs,” Ruth said. “I know what they can do and how hard it is to get off them.”

She offered more than hope to Roberts: “I want to help her. Once she gets out, I’ll give her a job at my store.”