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RIggs
Man accused of strangling ex-girlfriend has long rap sheet.
By Allison Scarbrough, Editor.
HART — A 37-year-old Mears man who was arrested by Oceana County sheriff’s deputies after allegedly holding his ex-girlfriend captive in her house several hours and assaulting her last weekend has an extensive criminal record that includes 30 prior convictions.
Joseph Alan Riggs, of 5839 5th St., faces new felony charges of assault by strangulation, unlawful driving away of an automobile, fourth-offense habitual offender and two counts of probation violation.
The incident occurred on West Polk Road in Hart Township Saturday, Feb. 29, according to Lt. Shane Hasty of the Oceana County Sheriff’s Office. Riggs is also accused of stealing the victim’s car.
Riggs is lodged in the Oceana County Jail on a $75,000 cash/surety bond, Hasty said. Bond for each probation violation was set at $5,000/cash.
The woman was taken by a friend to Spectrum Health Ludington Hospital following the ordeal. She sustained multiple bruises throughout her body and was bitten on the cheekbone by Riggs, Hasty said.
Riggs waited in the woman’s empty house until she arrived home at approximately 2 a.m. “He held her captive for approximately 12 hours,” the lieutenant said. “They were in a former dating relationship.”
In December of 2018, Riggs was sentenced to six months in jail in 27th Circuit Court for stealing his mother’s credit card to buy beer, cigarettes and gas. He pleaded guilty to illegal use or sale of a financial transaction device. He testified that he used his mom’s credit card in Golden Township, charging approximately $200.
Riggs, who testified that in 2018 he had a cocaine problem, was ordered to enter inpatient rehabilitation after his release from jail.
His criminal history includes five felony convictions and 25 misdemeanors, Judge Robert D. Springstead said previously.
According to the Michigan Department of Corrections Offender Tracking Information System, Riggs did a prison stint in 2011 for an Oceana County conviction of larceny from a person. He was sentenced to two years and eight months to 20 years, June 6, 2011. He has prior felony convictions in Michigan of uttering and publishing and cocaine possession, according to OTIS.
“I’m getting too old for this,” Riggs said during his 2018 sentencing.
He is scheduled to appear in 78th District Court March 23.
This story is copyrighted © 2020, all rights reserved by Media Group 31, LLC, PO Box 21, Scottville, MI 49454. No portion of this story or images may be reproduced in any way, including print or broadcast, without expressed written consent.
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