Brother of nursing student Laken Riley’s suspected killer Jose Ibarra charged with having fake green card

[The Bobster]

Brother of nursing student Laken Riley’s suspected killer Jose Ibarra charged with having fake green card

Diego Ibarra, 29, was charged after he was stopped by police in connection with the investigation into Laken Riley’s murder, the US Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia said.

nypost.com

Brother of nursing student Laken Riley’s suspected killer Jose Ibarra charged with having fake green card​

By
Social Links for Olivia Land



Published Feb. 24, 2024

Updated Feb. 24, 2024, 12:03 p.m. ET








The brother of the illegal immigrant arrested in connection with the killing of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley has been taken into custody for possessing a fake green card.


Diego Ibarra, 29, was charged after he was stopped by police in connection with the ongoing murder investigation, the US Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia said.


He is now in state custody, jail records show.


Diego’s younger brother, 26-year-old Jose Antonio Ibarra, is also being held on multiple charges — including malice murder — related to Riley’s death.


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Nursing student Laken Hope Riley was found dead on the University of Georgia campus, officials said. Facebook / Laken Riley
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The 26-year-old suspect in Riley’s murder, Jose Antonio Ibarra, had no known connection to the victim and is not a U.S. citizen. Clarke County Sheriffs Office

Promising nursing student, 22, found dead on campus with ‘visible injuries’ after going for a run — as suspect is taken into custody ​

Nursing student found dead with ‘visible injuries’ on UGA campus — 24 hours after dorm room death ​

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The brothers are from Venezuela, officials said.


Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) became aware of Diego Ibarra’s undocumented status when an Athens-Clarke County police officer approached him, the sworn affidavit revealed, Atlanta News First reported.


At the time, local authorities believed that he matched the description of the suspect sought for Riley’s killing.


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Jose Antonio Ibarra has been charged with malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, aggravated battery, false imprisonment, kidnapping, hindering a 911 call, and concealing the death of another in connection with Riley’s death. Atlanta News First
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At a press conference Friday night, UGA Police Chief Jeffrey Clark said that the suspect did not know Riley, and described the incident as a “crime of opportunity.” Atlanta News First
Diego Ibarra gave the officer a permanent resident card, or green card, which was then determined to be fraudulent, the document explained.


Further investigation revealed that he was met by the US Border Patrol in El Paso, Texas, on April 30, 2023.


He was processed for immediate removal, but was released to New York City pending asylum after he claimed reasonable fear of returning to his home country, the affidavit explained.


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Diego Ibarra, 29, was arrested late Friday and charged with having a fake green card. Clarke County Sheriffs Office
Several months later, in late September, he was nabbed by the Athens-Clarke County Police Department for driving under the influence and driving without a license.


He was subsequently arrested in the popular college area two more times: Once in October for shoplifting, and once in December for failing to appear for a fingerprintable offense, according to the official document.


Diego Ibarra’s initial court appearance remains undetermined, the US Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Georgia noted.


If convicted, he faces a maximum of 10 years behind bars.





It is not clear if authorities are also seeking to charge him with any crimes related to Riley’s killing.


The 22-year-old Augusta University nursing student was found dead from blunt force trauma on a trail near Lake Herrick on the nearby University of Georgia campus Thursday.


She was initially reported missing by a friend after failing to return from a morning run.


At a press conference Friday night, UGA Police Chief Jeffrey Clark said that the suspect did not know Riley, and described the incident as a “crime of opportunity.”


Clark confirmed that Jose Ibarra is not a US citizen, but declined to elaborate on his immigration status.

 

[The Bobster]

Laken Riley’s suspected killer Jose Ibarra illegally entered US in 2022 — and was cut loose due to lack of detention space: report

Jose Ibarra crossed into the US in 2022 and was reportedly released due to a lack of detention space in Texas.

nypost.com

Laken Riley’s suspected killer Jose Ibarra illegally entered US in 2022 — and was cut loose due to lack of detention space: report​

By
Social Links for Tina Moore ,
Social Links for Dana Kennedy and
Social Links for Olivia Land



Published Feb. 24, 2024

Updated Feb. 24, 2024, 12:21 p.m. ET








The migrant accused of killing Georgia nursing student Laken Riley illegally entered the US in 2022 — and was cut loose when there was no space for him in a detention center, according to a report.


Jose Antonio Ibarra, 26, who was arrested Friday in connection to the murder of the 22-year-old Augusta University student, crossed into El Paso, Texas, from Venezuela in September 2022, NewsNation reported Saturday, citing Department of Homeland Security sources.


He had been released due to a lack of detention space, the sources added.


Months before Ibarra allegedly killed Riley, he was apparently arrested in New York for endangering a child, according to NewsNation.


Police sources in New York confirmed a man by the same name and age as the Georgia suspect was arrested in the Big Apple last year after allegedly endangering the welfare of a 5-year-old.


Detectives launched a homicide investigation and filed murder charges against Ibarra, who had no known connection to Riley.

Suspected nursing student killer Jose Ibarra not a US citizen, did not know victim Laken Riley: police ​

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Riley’s body was found with “visible injuries” on a trail by Lake Herrick on the nearby University of Georgia campus Thursday, after a friend became worried when she didn’t return from her morning run.


Ibarra “did not know her at all. I think this is a crime of opportunity where he saw an individual and bad things happened,” UGA Police Chief Jeffrey Clark said Friday night.


Police are also holding Ibarra’s older brother, Diego Ibarra, for having a fraudulent green card, the US Attorney for Middle Georgia confirmed.


Diego Ibarra, 29, was caught with the fake document when police approached him in connection with Riley’s killing on Friday, the office explained.


Further investigation revealed that he was met by the US Border Patrol in El Paso, Texas, on April 30, 2023.


He was processed for immediate removal, but was released to New York City pending asylum after he claimed reasonable fear of returning to his home country, the affidavit explained.


He was arrested in Athens, Georgia, three times between September and December 2023.


The elder Ibarra is now in state custody and faces a maximum of 10 years behind bars.

‘The kindest person’​

Riley was as serious and disciplined about her daily running as she was about her career in nursing, her roommate said.


The 22-year-old loved to run and she also loved helping others, her friend and former roommate Bianca Tiller, 21, told Fox News.


Tiller and Riley were roommates during their freshman year at the University of Georgia.


Tiller recalled that Riley was strict about her regular morning runs and always tracked them on her Apple watch.


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Laken Riley, 22, found dead on a jogging trail near a Georgia college campus Thursday, was an avid runner who tracked her daily jogs on her Apple watch, her friend said. Facebook / Laken Riley
“She would go on runs every single day, even when we were freshmen,” Tiller said. “Not a day would go by where she wouldn’t go on her runs, and if she missed a day, which was very rare, she would just get so hard on herself about it.”


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Riley worked in a nursing home prior to starting her studies in nursing and liked helping people, her former roommate said. Facebook / Laken Riley
Riley believed the trails she ran on along Lake Herrick were safe, Tiller said, adding that many students and local residents walk and jog there.


“The first thing that really shocked me was that it was in the middle of the day or the morning. It wasn’t like she was running at nighttime,” Tiller said. “For it to happen during the day in such a populated area, on a warm day where you would expect a lot of people to be outside, is just really shocking and didn’t really make sense.”


Riley was exceptionally kind, said Tiller, who added she did not know the victim to have any enemies.


“She would always be there for everybody,” Tiller said. “And she would just really bring everybody together and friendships together. I’ve met so many people through her, and she was just the kindest person. Like, nobody had anything terrible or even remotely bad to say about her.”


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Riley’s suspected killer Jose Antonio Ibarra, 26, had no known connection to her and illegally entered the US in 2022. He was released from DHS custody over a lack of detention space. Clarke County Sheriffs Office
After three years at the University of Georgia, Riley entered a nursing program at Augusta University’s Athens campus, which is close to UGA.


“She’s been wanting [to be a nurse] for a really long time,” Tiller said. “She was studying biology when she was at UGA.”





Riley worked at a nursing home prior to starting college and often spoke about her time there, Tiller said.


“No matter how little the pay was and how difficult the work was, she just really liked helping people,” Tiller said.