Brothers, roommate of illegal immigrant who killed Laken Riley to be deported
The brother of Jose Ibarra, a 26-year-old Venezuelan illegal immigrant convicted of killing 22-year-old nursing student Laken Riley Feb. 22, 2024, while she was jogging on the University of Georgia campus, was sentenced to prison and deportation after he pleaded guilty to having a fake green card during the murder investigation.
Diego "Gocho" Ibarra, 29, of Venezuela, was sentenced Wednesday to four years behind bars after pleading guilty to two counts of possession of a fraudulent document July 15, 2024. The sentence was above the federal sentencing guideline range, and he will not be eligible for parole.
Riley's killer, Jose Ibarra, lived with his brothers — Diego and Argenis "Meny" Ibarra, 25, of Venezuela — and a female roommate, Rosbeli "La Gorda" Flores-Bello, 29, of Venezuela, in an Athens, Georgia apartment complex at the time of the murder. All four were questioned and arrested by investigators.
Argenis Ibarra and Flores-Bello admitted to having fake green cards under different names Feb. 23, 2024, and pleaded guilty to possession of a fraudulent document in December 2024. However, they remained in the states.
In Wednesday's ruling, U.S. District Judge Tilman E. Self ordered Diego Ibarra to be placed in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody at the end of his federal prison sentence and ordered Argenis Ibarra and Flores-Bello be placed in ICE custody immediately.
According to court documents and statements, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) was notified of Diego Ibarra's illegal presence in the U.S. Feb. 23, 2024, during the Laken Riley murder investigation.
At the time, an Athens-Clarke County Police Department (ACCPD) officer searching for Jose Ibarra approached Diego Ibarra because he matched his brother's description.
Diego Ibarra gave the ACCPD officer a fake green card when asked for identification and was taken into custody.
Investigators later discovered his journey to the U.S. involved multiple illegal border crossings, and, once in the U.S., his criminal activity continued.
He was first sent back to Mexico April 3, 2023, after he was caught illegally entering the U.S. near Eagle Pass, Texas, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Georgia.
Less than a month later, on April 30, 2023, he tried again to break into the country with four other Venezuelan men by crossing the border near Ysleta Station in El Paso, Texas.
In a fight with United States Border Patrol (USBP) agents, Diego Ibarra grabbed and threw an agent's service radio before attempting to bite the agent. The encounter was broken up by members of the National Guard.
He was taken to a hospital after complaining of chest pains and pain in his back and leg, which he attributed to scaling and falling from the border fence during his illegal crossing.
After admitting his injuries were not from the fight with agents, he claimed asylum and "fear of return" to Venezuela.
ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) placed him in the Alternatives to Detention (ATD) program May 11, 2023, and he was released from immigration custody the next day under the condition he wear a GPS ankle bracelet and report to New York pending asylum proceedings. He never showed up.
Diego Ibarra's ankle monitor last "pinged" near Littleton, Colorado, May 25, 2023, and he cut it off at some point before his final arrest, according to the statement.
He moved to Georgia, where he briefly worked at a UGA cafeteria, and was subsequently arrested on various charges, including DUI and driving without a license Sept. 24, 2023; shoplifting Oct. 27, 2023; and shoplifting with an outstanding arrest warrant Dec. 8, 2023.
ACCPD also responded to a domestic incident involving Diego Ibarra and his girlfriend Sept. 26, 2023.
While jailed at the Butts County Detention Center for the fake documents found during the Riley murder investigation, Diego Ibarra caused "severe water damage" when he broke a jail cell block fire sprinkler system, according to the statement.
On June 25, 2024, prison guards found Ibarra with two improvised weapons, including a sharpened sprinkler head with a makeshift grip and a pen wrapped in saran wrap.
Court documents note Diego Ibarra is likely affiliated with the Venezuelan illegal immigrant street gang Tren de Aragua (TdA), based on evidence that included his multiple TdA tattoos and photos of him on social media making TdA gang signs and wearing TdA clothing.
President Donald Trump on Saturday invoked the wartime Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to target TdA, designated a foreign terrorist organization Feb. 20 by the Department of State.
While Argenis Ibarra and Flores-Bello's border-crossing backgrounds are less lengthy than Diego Ibarra's, investigators found Argenis Ibarra also entered the U.S. illegally multiple times.
Argenis Ibarra entered the U.S. illegally April 3, 2023, near Eagle Pass, Texas, and the USBP returned him to Mexico.
Less than a month later, on April 30, 2023, the USBP arrested him again near El Paso, Texas, and took him to an ICE processing center in El Paso, according to the statement. He was released May 4, 2023, "because the processing center lacked space."
Similarly, Flores-Bello was arrested after illegally entering the country May 3, 2023, taken to an ICE processing center in El Paso and released on May 5, 2023, "because the processing center lacked space," according to the statement.
She provided a home address in New York and was scheduled for an immigration court hearing on Oct. 18, 2023, but took a humanitarian flight to Atlanta, Georgia, in December 2023 with Jose Ibarra, whom she met in New York.
She settled in Athens and lived with the Ibarra brothers until Laken Riley was murdered.
Jose Ibarra was convicted Nov. 20, 2024 of malice murder, three counts of felony murder and assault with intent to rape, among other charges, in Athens-Clarke County Superior Court.
He is serving a life sentence.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Boston Globe
2 hours ago
- Boston Globe
Mass. lets criminals go, ICE arrests innocent people. They both need to change.
Get The Gavel A weekly SCOTUS explainer newsletter by columnist Kimberly Atkins Stohr. Enter Email Sign Up Cases like Lopez's show that sometimes, federal authorities have a legitimate gripe with the state's progressive policies. Because of a 2017 Supreme Judicial Court decision, there are instances when the state releases dangerous criminals instead of handing them over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Advertisement But the Trump administration is also overstating how much Massachusetts' policies, as bad as they can be, are to blame for its mounting arrests of noncriminals. Both sides need to give a little bit: Massachusetts should be willing to help in cases where ICE wants to arrest a convicted criminal like Lopez. The federal government has the right to deport people who are in this country illegally, and the state should help when it comes to violent criminals. Advertisement What the federal government doesn't have the right to do is compel local law enforcement to go after law-abiding, peaceable immigrants — whether they're here illegally or not. And it shouldn't be targeting noncriminals, either — or using local sanctuary policies as a pretext for the recent arrests of people with no criminal records. Over the past month, ICE has arrested 'If sanctuary cities would change their policies and turn these violent criminal aliens over to us into our custody instead of releasing them into the public, we would not have to go out to the communities and do this,' Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons said during an ICE The state's policies date to 2017, when the Supreme Judicial Court ruled in Lunn v. Commonwealth that the Legislature would have to specifically authorize court officers to honor requests from immigration authorities to hold deportable immigrants. So far, the Democratic-led Legislature has not done so, and it passed up different bills that would allow law enforcement to cooperate on detainers for immigrants who are here illegally and have committed heinous crimes. Inaction on Lunn has drawn scrutiny from conservatives and even a member of Healey's Cabinet. For Worcester County Sheriff Lew Evangelidis, for example, law enforcement's inability to coordinate with federal immigration authorities means that some criminal migrants can be released back into the community. 'Right now, there's no ability to notify ICE and hold that person for [ICE] to make a determination whether they wish to take them into custody and then provide them the due process that they get in the federal system,' he told me. Advertisement Meanwhile, Healey's secretary of Public Safety and Security, Terrence Reidy, has In a statement, Healey's office said it does cooperate with ICE to some extent, such as by notifying ICE when a criminal in state custody is scheduled to be released. But that leaves loopholes for cases like Lopez's, which result in ICE having to rearrest a criminal. There were no collateral arrests when ICE tracked down Lopez because they were banned under the Biden administration — but there could be if a similar arrest were made now. Still, the Trump administration is exaggerating the connection between sanctuary policies and collateral arrests. Cases where criminals like Lopez were released in spite of detainers may have fueled some collateral arrests in the past month. But the Department of Homeland Security has failed to give a detailed breakdown so it's hard to know just how many. In a Advertisement Meanwhile, some of ICE's higher profile examples of collateral arrest seem to have nothing to do with Lunn. Like the case of the 18-year-old Milford student, Marcelo Gomes da Silva, who was arrested on his way to volleyball practice in an operation meant for his father. He was But so far there It isn't crazy for the Trump administration to criticize Massachusetts policies that can and have allowed convicted criminal migrants to be released into the community. In fact, most Americans would agree — a recent University of Massachusetts Amherst But that poll also found that most people Carine Hajjar is a Globe Opinion writer. She can be reached at
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Conservative Torches ICE Chief's ‘Pathetic' Excuse for Agents Wearing Masks
Conservative commentator and longtime political strategist Bill Kristol blasted Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents for wearing masks during recent operations, calling the practice a tool of fear—not protection. Appearing on CNN's NewsNight on Monday, Kristol—who has often decried the values of the Republican Party since its MAGA makeover—dismissed ICE's justification for the face coverings, slamming the practice as 'ridiculous' and 'pathetic.' 'I mean, it's pathetic to pretend that, 'Oh, we're so concerned about their safety, they have to wear masks,'' Kristol, editor at large at The Bulwark and co-founder of the anti-Trump nonprofit Defending Democracy Together, said. Kristol, who also served as former chief of staff to Vice President Dan Quayle under President George H.W. Bush, added: 'I grew up in New York City—40,000 cops, extremely dangerous circumstances. None of them were masked except in extremely rare occasions when they were going after some gang leader who might have relatives who go after them. ICE agents have functioned in this country. They didn't wear masks. They shouldn't wear masks. 'It's total nonsense, and it's for intimidation. It's not really for their protection. It's ridiculous.' Kristol's comments come amid growing scrutiny of ICE's enforcement tactics, particularly the use of face coverings that obscure agents' identities during arrests. Critics argue that such anonymity undermines accountability and fosters fear within immigrant communities. Tim Walz, governor of Minnesota and Kamala Harris' running mate in the 2024 presidential election, even likened the agency's officers to Gestapo agents. Dan Goldman, a Democrat who represents New York's 10th Congressional District, also called the masked raids 'Gestapo-like behavior.' The Gestapo, short for Geheime Staatspolizei or 'Secret State Police,' served as Nazi Germany's notorious internal security force and routinely detained individuals without charge. ICE Director Todd Lyons defended the policy, citing officer safety in the wake of public anger over a May 30 raid at Buona Forchetta, a family-owned Italian restaurant in San Diego's South Park neighborhood. 'I'm not going to let my officers and agents go out there and put their lives on the line, their family on the line because people don't like what immigration enforcement is,' he said. Witnesses said about 30 masked agents stormed the restaurant, cuffing workers indiscriminately. 'They took people,' one tearful employee told local news. 'They took some of our employees. There was no stopping them.' The raid sparked instant community outrage. Neighbors flooded the scene chanting, 'Shame! Shame! ICE out!' One bystander told NBC7: 'The entire community was disgusted, infuriated and enraged. They don't want people in military tactical gear playing soldier, playing like they are in Afghanistan, coming in here and just screwing with people on a nice Friday afternoon.'
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
San Diego Unified School District reaffirms position on immigration enforcement
SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — San Diego Unified School District leaders reaffirmed their commitment Wednesday to keeping immigration enforcement agents off school campuses, promising to protect all students regardless of immigration status. At a press conference held at district headquarters in University Heights, Interim Superintendent Dr. Fabiola Bagula addressed growing community concerns following recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids in the South Park neighborhood. 'Every student, regardless of how they identify or where they come from, deserves to feel supported, safe and inspired to come to school,' Bagula said. Board trustee Richard Barrera criticized recent immigration raids, which took place near a local school as students were leaving afterschool programs. 'We don't ignore that it is an intentional attempt on the part of politicians in this country to strike fear into the hearts of our families,' Barrera said. District officials highlighted steps they've taken over the past year to safeguard undocumented students and their families. In December, the board passed a resolution prohibiting ICE agents from entering school campuses without a court order, judicial subpoena or parental consent. San Diego County Superintendent of Schools Dr. Gloria Ciriza emphasized that student safety is a prerequisite for learning. 'We know that our young people have a better chance to learn and grow in school if they feel safe, protected and welcome,' she said. In addition to policy changes, the district launched a website providing legal resources for undocumented and LGBTQIA+ students. Over the past school year, Bagula said more than 650 students and adults received services at the district's five Newcomer Welcome Centers. 'No confirmed reports of ICE on our campuses have been received in the last six months,' she added. Officials also announced the distribution of 10,000 'red cards,' which outline constitutional rights when interacting with immigration authorities. 'School will always be a safe haven for all of our students and all of our families,' Barrera said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
