WINTER PARK, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35 ORLANDO) -
A prisoner who escaped from custody while receiving treatment at Winter Park Memorial Hospital is back in jail.
A spokesman with the Winter Park Police Department said James Cornell West III, 24, used a gun taken from an Orange County Corrections Deputy on-scene to steal a car.
Almost immediately after receiving a call alerting police to the escape, a second 911 call was received from a doctor's office across from the hospital, reporting that an elderly man had been carjacked. The victim is identified as 83-year-old Walter Rigling.
In an exclusive interview, Rigling told FOX 35, "I saw this tall, thin, black fellow coming right at me. He looked like he had been running, but didn't particularly look like he was in distress. He said, 'Give me your keys to your car!' It caught be back a little. I looked down. He had a gun in his hand, pointed at my belly. I said, 'What?' He said, 'Give me your keys!' and I said, 'Yes sir!'
After West took the car, Rigling ran to safety.
"He seemed like he was in a hurry, and he seemed like he was anxious, but I didn't feel like he was going to shoot me," Rigling said. "But I wasn't going to test him," he added.
Winter Park police officers spotted West a short while later. After a brief pursuit, he was apprehended.
West was transported to Winter Park Police Department for booking, then to Orange County Jail. He faces news charges of armed carjacking, robbery, aggravated assault, battery upon law enforcement officer, grand theft, and fleeing.
No one was injured during the escape and subsequent carjacking, and the stolen gun was recovered. An internal investigation has been launched to determine why and how there was a breach in security.
