Diego Ibarra is the brother of Jose Ibarra, the man accused of killing Laken Riley. Jose Antonio Ibarra was arrested for illegal entry in September 2022 near El Paso, Texas. The arrest occurred during what has been described as “an unprecedented surge in migration.”
Diego Ibarra “has pleaded guilty to possessing a fake green card.” As reported, Diego is a Venezuelan citizen. Diego had been previously arrested on February 23 after “Athens-Clarke County police officers approached him, thinking he matched the description of Laken Riley’s killer. Police said that’s when he handed them the fraudulent document.”
Illustrative of immigration policy enforcement, “Police said the 29-year-old had been arrested three times since 2022 for DUI and driving without a license, shoplifting, and failure to appear.” As reported, Diego “made his first court appearance in Macon on March 4. At that time, the U.S. magistrate judge ordered a preliminary hearing regarding probable cause.” A week later, a federal grand jury indicted him.
Diego’s current status is that on July 15, he “pleaded guilty to two counts of possession of a fraudulent document.” He faces a maximum of ten years in prison to be followed by up to three years of supervised release a $250,000 fine per count. He is expected to be sentenced on Oct. 7.
