KISSIMMEE, Fla. — An inmate known for escaping from the Osceola County jail in 2010 - but found two months later - was back in court again to ask for a new trial.
The judge denied Michael Rigby’s motion for a new trial, saying, “I don’t find that the evidence is credible.”
That evidence was a witness who recanted a statement that blamed Rigby for an attempted robbery.
Rigby says he pleaded no contest to the crime after two witnesses said he did it. But now one named Jonathan Mcalister changed his statement. Mcalister told the court,“ I was just going along with their agenda.”
Back in 2022, Mcalister wrote a letter to Rigby saying, “Michael is innocent.” He told the court he was pressured by investigators to blame Rigby for the attempted robbery.
Rigby was originally given a five-year sentence. That increased to 22 years after he escaped from the Osceola County jail in 2010. He was located two months later in New Jersey and taken back to Florida.
So far, he’s spent 15 years in prison. And now he will continue serving that 22-year sentence despite a witness changing his testimony.
WFTV legal analyst Bill Sheaffer said, “It’s very rare that a recantation pf testimony results in a new trial. I’ve seen them deny this type of motion even when it’s multiple witness recanting testimony.”
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