Man charged in incident claims he is the victim

Police are investigating an incident involving several people and multiple crashed cars, but the man charged in the incident told Channel 11 he is the victim.

The incident was sparked over a political disagreement, according to police.

Three of the victims told police one version, but the man charged has his own story.

Ernest Riggin showed Channel 11 the damage to his car after an incident left him facing assault charges and a night in the county jail.

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"The damage done does not seem to me like I was purposely ramming into anything," he said.

He told Channel 11 he's facing accusations that he hit three people and two vehicles with his car Sunday night, but he said he doesn't remember any of it.

"I actually had a concussion and I have short-term memory loss because of it, and I still do now, I'm still recovering from it," Riggin said. "I don't remember most of it."

Riggin said he got punched in the face while trying to leave -- and that he was diagnosed with a concussion. He showed us a copy of the paperwork, and a picture of his bruised eye.

"We were backing up from him, ended up hitting Evan's car, our windows were down -- even punched him in the face trying to back up from all of this," said Elizabeth Frazier, Riggin's girlfriend.

Riggin's girlfriend said she was in the car as it was happening.

She said they were just trying to get out of the driveway on Skyline Drive in Farmington and bumped into two vehicles on their way, and claims one victim took a shovel to their windshield.

"He smacked it right here and he smacked the windshield as well," Frazier said.

One victim claimed he got hit by the car and reportedly ended up needing stitches after falling to the ground.

Two other victims allegedly told police they, too, were hit, but weren't hurt.

Now that he's facing felony charges, Riggin said he plans on fighting them -- and wants to press charges against the other people involved, too.

"I wasn't trying to intentionally hurt anyone with my vehicle or my personal self, I was just trying to get out of the situation where I was being attacked," Riggin said.

Channel 11 contacted the other victims, who were not available to speak to us. Riggin is contacting investigators to evaluate his options.

Cox Media Group