Laken Riley murder suspect had prior criminal background, illegally entered US in 2022
ATLANTA, Ga. (WRDW) - We’re learning the suspect charged in the killing of a 22-year-old AU nursing student on the University of Georgia campus this week was previously arrested in 2022 after illegally entering the United States near El Paso, Texas, a spokesperson for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) confirmed Sunday.
From News 12/26′s sister station in Atlanta, we’re learning more about 26-year-old Jose Antonio Ibarra, who was also arrested in New York City the following year in 2023, said Lindsay Williams, the ICE spokesperson.
Ibarra faces malice and felony murder charges among multiple other counts in the killing of Laken Hope Riley, who was found dead on the UGA campus Thursday.
Ibarra, a citizen of Venezuela, was arrested by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on Sept. 8, 2022, after unlawfully entering the U.S. near El Paso, according to Williams.
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“He was paroled and released for further processing,” Williams said.
Then on Sept. 14, 2023, Ibarra was arrested by the New York City Police Department and “charged with acting in a manner to injure a child less than 17 and a motor vehicle license violation. He was released by the NYPD before a detainer could be issued,” Williams said.
However, the NYPD said that there were no records of arrests for Ibarra in 2023 or 2022.
Ibarra was arrested Friday in connection to the death of Laken Riley. Authorities said his brother, Diego Ibarra, was also arrested and charged with possessing a fake green card.
A UGA spokesperson said Diego Ibarra used a fake green card to get hired for a temporary position as a dishwasher in Bolton Dining Hall in February, but was soon fired after he “failed to submit further documentation required to keep the job” and was never paid by the university.
After his arrest Friday, ICE lodged a detainer on Jose Ibarra, Williams said.
On Saturday, February 24, Governor Brian Kemp posted a letter to “X” addressed to President Joe Biden, calling for his istration to be more transparent with illegal border crossings after the death of an Augusta University nursing student on the University of Georgia campus.
In Gov. Kemp’s letter, he says, “These tragedies are not unique to Georgia. While we will continue to Texas with National Guard resources as we have since 2019, federal action to secure the border is the only way to wholistically address this ongoing crisis and ensure Laken Riley’s horrible fate is not replicated across the country.”
What we know
- On Thursday, a person called UGA police around noon after their friend didn’t return from a morning run at the school’s intramural fields. Police found Riley’s body in a wooded area behind Lake Herrick with “visible injuries,” and she was pronounced dead at the scene.
- The coroner’s office has identified the victim as 22-year-old Laken Hope Riley. Augusta University said she was one of its students at the school’s College of Nursing campus in Athens.
- Foul play is suspected, police said.
- The death is the first homicide on campus in decades, UGA Police Chief Jeffery Clark said.
- UGA police are working with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the Athens-Clarke County Police Department to investigate the incident.
- All classes at UGA were canceled until Monday. The Augusta University College of Nursing also canceled classes on Friday.
- Police ask anyone with information about the incident to call 706-542-2200.
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