ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – An Ocala wife said she's not leaving the Orange County Jail until she gets answers about her husband's arrest.
She said he's in jail on a case of mistaken identity, but Wednesday authorities in Orange County and Miami-Dade told News 6 they've confirmed the fingerprints of inmate Jose Batista are the same fingerprints of the man wanted in Miami-Dade for two cases of aggravated battery dating back to 1995 when Batista was 17 years old.
News 6 first broke the story of Elizabeth Rios' claims that her husband, Batista, was being mistaken for someone else. She and her husband said he's not the same guy authorities in Miami-Dade have been seeking.
Batista was arrested Friday by Orange County sheriff’s deputies after he was stopped for a faulty brake light while working as an Uber driver and authorities said a warrant was out for his arrest.
"I know they have the wrong person. And it just keeps getting longer and longer," Rios said.
Miami-Dade authorities said a judge would have to make the next steps, prior to Batista's possible extradition to Miami-Dade County.
Jail leaders said every inmate is fingerprinted and their identity is confirmed through the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
"He still has to go to court. And we’re still going to go through the process to determine his real identity," Orange County Corrections Chief Cornita Riley said.
"They got the wrong guy, my name is Jose," Batista said.
Wednesday, only News 6 spoke with Batista from jail. He said he was arrested in 1995 and did his time.
"Yeah, but I served them (my time) and did five years' probation," Batista said.
Batista said he’s been confused before for a man years ago who shares a similar name and birthday as him.
"The day I was going to get out in 1996, I was held for, like, six hours in Miami because of the guy Josue Batista had those warrants," Batista said.
Stay with News 6 on this developing story.