United States Attorney Maxwell Wood, Middle District of Georgia, announced that on June 28, 2007, United States District Court Judge Clay Land sentenced Rodney Riggins, 25, of Columbus, Georgia to 405 months in prison for the May 19, 2005 kidnapping of an infant. There is no parole in the federal system.

According to a stipulated plea agreement, Riggins and two other armed men entered the Columbus residence of Daphne Wilson and her infant child at approximately 5:00 a.m. The men ransacked Wilson's home and demanded money. When Wilson was unable to give the men any money, they took her child and demanded a ransom for the child's return.

Riggins and his colleagues drove the child around town, crossing over into Phenix City, Alabama, before finally abandoning the child at a location on Floyd Road in Columbus. The child was recovered unharmed and Riggins was arrested nearby.

The investigation was handled jointly by the Phenix City Police Department, Columbus Police Department, Muscogee County Sheriff's Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mel Hyde.

Co-defendants Darrell Joseph and Riviere Marshall are scheduled for trial in September.

For additional information, contact Sue McKinney, Public Affairs Specialist, United States Attorney's Office, at (478) 621-2602.