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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
Fox News Digital’s Audrey Conklin contributed to this report.
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