Suspect in Georgia student's death arrested multiple times since illegally entering U.S.

The suspect charged in the death of nursing student Laken Hope Riley on the University of Georgia campus has been arrested by federal and local authorities in multiple jurisdictions since unlawfully entering the country in 2022, authorities said. There was a bench warrant for his arrest stemming from an earlier incident at the time of Riley’s death, records show.

Jose Antonio Ibarra was arrested by U.S. Customs and Border Protection on Sept. 8, 2022, after unlawfully entering the United States, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said Sunday. The agency said that it lodged a detainer after its Enforcement and Removal Operations unit in Atlanta encountered Ibarra on Friday following his arrest on murder charges.

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On Oct. 27, 2023, Ibarra, 26, and his brother Diego Jose Ibarra, 29, were issued citations after being accused of shoplifting and given information about a pre-arrest diversion program, according to an Athens-Clarke County Police report. Local authorities allege about $200 worth of clothing and food was stolen from a Walmart, records show.

The brothers, from Venezuela, had been separately apprehended by U.S. border patrol agents near El Paso, Texas, and released to New York pending adjudication of their asylum claims, authorities said.

The Athens Walmart incident occurred about a month after Jose Antonio Ibarra was arrested in New York and charged with acting in a manner to injure a child and a motor vehicle license violation.

A bench warrant was issued for Jose Ibarra’s arrest on Dec. 20 after he failed to appear in court, records show. He was arrested in Athens by University of Georgia Police on Friday and charged with malice murder, felony murder, aggravated battery, aggravated assault, false imprisonment, kidnapping, hindering a 911 call, and concealing the death of Riley.

The body of Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student, was found Thursday in a wooded area near UGA’s intramural fields after she went for a run and didn’t return home. Investigators believe she died from blunt force trauma. Jose Ibarra’s arrest warrant, obtained by the AJC on Monday, said Jose Ibarra committed aggravated battery against Riley by “disfiguring her skull,” and concealed her death by “dragging the victim to a secluded area.” The crimes occurred between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Thursday, the warrant states.

Diego Ibarra was also apprehended Friday and charged by federal prosecutors with possessing a fraudulent U.S. permanent resident card.

In a statement to the AJC on Monday, the Athens-Clarke County Police Department said its officers don’t have immediate access to immigration status governed by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

“The general process of identifying and removing non-citizens with criminal or pending criminal charges arrested by state and local law enforcement agencies is handled during the booking process by the law enforcement agency responsible for the jail,” the department said. “In our jurisdiction, that is the Clarke County Jail.”

A complaint in a Georgia federal court states that Diego Ibarra was apprehended by U.S. border patrol agents in late April 2023. He was processed for immediate removal from the United States, but claimed a credible fear of returning to Venezuela and was released to New York pending adjudication of his claim for asylum.

Venezuelans are given special immigration status by the Biden administration as millions flee political repression and poverty.

Diego Ibarra has not applied for or lawfully obtained a permanent resident card, the complaint states.

Reports from Athens-Clarke County Police indicate Diego Ibarra first came to the attention of local officers when he was arrested in late September. Police say he was driving 80 miles per hour in a 40-mph zone while under the influence of alcohol and without a license. He told the arresting officer he’d consumed seven beers, records show.

Two days later, Diego Ibarra was charged with criminal trespass stemming from a domestic incident, records show. In December, records show he was charged with shoplifting from the same Walmart a second time.