Southeast

Brother of UGA murder suspect charged with green card fraud

Published

2 years ago

February 25, 2024

Brother of UGA murder suspect charged with green card fraud

An undocumented Venezuelan man living in Athens, Georgia — who is the brother of a suspect accused of killing on the University of Georgia campus —— was charged Friday night with possessing a fraudulent green card, according to officials.

Diego Ibarra, 29, was charged by a federal criminal complaint and is being held in state custody, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Middle District of Georgia said in a press release. Ibarra could face as many as ten years in prison if convicted.

The federal arrest affidavit for Diego Ibarra shows after he made an asylum claim in El Paso, he was allowed to travel to New York. But in September 2023, Athens-Clarke County Police charged him with drunken driving and driving without a license. A month later, police arrested him again, this time for shoplifting. And in December, he allegedly skipped court and racked up another charge.

Ibarra is the brother of Jose Ibarra, 26, of Venezuela, who is facing state charges for malice murder, felony murder, aggravated battery, aggravated assault, false imprisonment, kidnapping, hindering a 911 call and concealing the death of another in connection with the death of Laken Hope Riley, a 22-year-old Augusta University nursing student who police found dead Thursday on the University of Georgia campus.

LAKEN RILEY CASE: GEORGIA AUTHORITIES IDENTIFY MURDER SUSPECT IN CUSTODY IN NURSING STUDENT’S SLAYING

Diego Ibarra, an illegal immigrant from Venezuela, allegedly handed over a fake green card to police on the hunt for his brother Jose, who they accuse of killing Georgia nursing student Laken Riley. (Clarke County Sheriffs Office)

Homeland Security Investigations learned of Diego Ibarra’s undocumented presence in the U.S. on Friday when an Athens-Clarke County Police Department officer approached him earlier in the day because he matched the description of his brother as authorities were investigating the UGA murder, according to the criminal complaint and sworn affidavit.

Read the federal arrest affidavit

Laken Hope Riley was found dead on UGA’s campus on Thursday, February 22, 2024. (Laken Riley/Instagram)

Diego Ibarra showed the officer a U.S. permanent resident card, otherwise known as a green card, as identification. The card was determined to be fraudulent, and Diego Ibarra was processed for expedited removal, but he claimed a credible fear of returning to his home country of Venezuela. So border authorities let him into the country.

Since entering the country, Diego Ibarra has been arrested three times by Athens law enforcement. In late September, he was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol and driving without a license. About a month later, he was arrested for shoplifting, and in December he was arrested for failure to appear for a fingerprintable offense.

Jose Ibarra, who was originally taken into custody on Friday by the UGA Police Department in connection with Riley’s death, is now not believed to have had a connection to the victim. (Clarke County Sheriff’s Office)

Melissa Hodges, a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Middle District of Georgia, said she can confirm Diego Ibarra is undocumented but cannot say the same for his brother.

“I can confirm Jose Ibarra is from Venezuela only. Diego is undocumented from Venezuela,” Hodges told Fox News Digital. “I do not have the details on Jose Ibarra.”

Jose Ibarra, who was originally taken into custody on Friday by the UGA Police Department in connection with Riley’s death, is now not believed to have had a connection to the victim.

UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA POLICE QUESTIONING ‘PERSON OF INTEREST’ IN LAKEN RILEY HOMICIDE

Laken Hope Riley, a 22-year-old Augusta University nursing student who police found dead Thursday on the University of Georgia campus. (Laken Riley/Facebook)

UGA Police Chief Jeffrey L. Clark said during a news briefing Friday evening that the attack was a “crime of opportunity,” adding that Riley was not a student at UGA. Riley had previously attended UGA before entering a nursing program at Augusta’s Athens campus.

Classes and events at both universities were canceled on Friday.

Clark said Jose Ibarra’s immigration status was not immediately known to investigators.

“Right now I don’t know his full status,” he said. “He is not a citizen of the United States.”

Police found Riley near UGA’s Intramural Fields and Lake Herrick with “visible injuries” at around 12:38 p.m. Thursday after they received a call from a concerned friend who said she had gone for a run and did not return.

GEORGIA NURSING STUDENT FOUND DEAD ON UGA CAMPUS IDENTIFIED AS LAKEN RILEY

Laken Riley poses for a photo posted to Facebook. Riley was found dead near a lake on UGA’s campus on Thursday, February 22, 2024. (Allyson Phillips/Facebook)

Riley had visible injuries and police could not locate a pulse, but they began CPR anyway. A sergeant arrived with a defibrillator minutes later and unsuccessfully attempted to revive the victim.

“Based on the injuries and Riley’s physical condition, I suspected that foul play was involved,” the police report reads.

Clark said it appeared as though she had been killed by blunt-force trauma.

Autopsy results remained pending Friday, but authorities said they were investigating her death as a homicide. Clark said it appeared as though she had been killed by blunt-force trauma.

Fox News’ Audrey Conklin and Sarah Rumpf-Whitten contributed to this report.

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Southeast

Dem governor under fire after illegal alien allegedly stabs woman to death at bus stop: ‘Heinous’

Published

4 hours ago

February 28, 2026

Press Room

Dem governor under fire after illegal alien allegedly stabs woman to death at bus stop: ‘Heinous’

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EXCLUSIVE: The Department of Homeland Security is calling on Virginia’s Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger to ensure local law enforcement cooperates with federal immigration officials by handing over an illegal immigrant with a lengthy criminal record who allegedly killed a woman earlier this week at a Virginia bus stop.

Police in Fairfax County, Virginia, arrested an illegal immigrant from Sierra Leone earlier this week on charges of second-degree murder after he allegedly fatally stabbed a woman, Stephanie Minter, 41, who was found dead at a local bus stop with several wounds to the upper body.

The alleged suspect, Abdul Jalloh, 32, also has a criminal history of more than 30 arrests, according to DHS, including for rape, malicious wounding, assault, identity theft, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, assault and pick-pocketing.

The request from the Trump administration comes after the newly elected Democratic governor of Virginia signed an executive order to end cooperation between federal immigration officials and state and local law enforcement, a move several Democratic Party governors have taken recently amid President Donald Trump’s move to increase deportation operations around the country.

The DHS request asking Virginia officials to cooperate with ICE also comes after an illegal immigrant allegedly murdered someone just days after being released from jail for a separate crime in December.

Abdul Jalloh, 32, and Gov. Abigail Spanberger (Department of Homeland Security/Getty Images)

“We are calling on Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger and Virginia’s sanctuary politicians to commit to not releasing this murderer and violent career criminal from their jail without notifying ICE,” said Deputy Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis.

“This illegal alien’s murder of an innocent, beautiful American woman came less than 24 hours before Governor Spanberger’s demonization of ICE law enforcement. This heinous criminal is a perfect example of why we need cooperation from sanctuary jurisdictions and the importance of third country removals for the safety of the American people.”

Spanberger’s representatives did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Jalloh entered the United States illegally in 2012, according to DHS, and immigration officials lodged an immigration detainer against him in 2020, whereupon he was granted a final order of removal by a judge who said he could be removed to any country other than Sierra Leone.

ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT WITH PRIOR DEPORTATION SHOOTS DEPUTY IN CHEST, DIES AFTER EXCHANGE: DHS

Protesters, using whistles to alert neighborhoods to ICE activity, face off with Minneapolis police officers in Minneapolis Jan. 24, 2026. (Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images)

DHS indicated that ICE cooperation to ensure Jalloh’s deportation is evident after a case Fox News covered in December when a criminal illegal alien from El Salvador, Marvin Morales-Ortez, 23, allegedly killed a man just a day after Fairfax County jail officials let him go.

The immigrant from El Salvador had been in custody on charges of malicious wounding and brandishing a gun, but police released him after the Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office, led by George Soros-backed prosecutor Steve Descano, dropped the charges.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Fairfax County Sheriff’s office to inquire about why the man had not been handed over to ICE.

The sheriff’s office said, “ICE was aware of Morales-Ortez’s incarceration and elected not to seek a judicial warrant to ensure he remained in custody.

Marvin Morales-Ortez, who is living in the country illegally, was released from Fairfax County custody and then allegedly committed a murder the next day. (Fairfax County Police Department/Getty Images)

“The Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office follows all local, state and federal laws when determining whether a person is subject to release from the ADC,” the sheriff’s office told Fox News Digital at the time. “Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is automatically notified any time a person is booked into the ADC.”

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The same sheriff’s office did not get back to Fox News Digital’s media inquiry for this story on DHS urging officials to cooperate with federal officials.

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Southeast

Illegal immigrant arrested after showing up to Florida Border Patrol office for contract IT work

Published

16 hours ago

February 27, 2026

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Illegal immigrant arrested after showing up to Florida Border Patrol office for contract IT work

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FIRST ON FOX: An illegal immigrant who reported to a U.S. Border Patrol site in Florida to perform some Information technology contractual work was arrested when authorities were made aware of his citizenship status, officials said.

Angel Camacho, a Venezuelan citizen, reported to a USBP center in Dania Beach, Florida, Jan. 6 to do some IT work when U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials began vetting him, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) told Fox News Digital.

During its investigation, it was revealed Camacho was in violation of U.S. immigration laws, authorities said.

Angel Camacho reported to a Florida U.S. Border Patrol center to perform contractual work when he was arrested, a Department of Homeland Security official said. (Getty Images )

“CBP vets all external visitors before allowing them to enter secure facilities to ensure safety and operational integrity,” DHS Deputy Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said in a statement.

“During the vetting process, CBP uncovered this individual was a tourist visa overstay in the country for over five years.”

SCHUMER, DEMS AGAIN BLOCK DHS FUNDING, FORCE STATE OF THE UNION SHOWDOWN

This photo shows a U.S. Border Patrol patch on a border agent’s uniform in McAllen, Texas, Jan. 15, 2019. (Suzanne CordeiroAFP via Getty Images)

Camacho was arrested and transferred to ICE custody, Bis said.

His criminal history includes theft and resisting a Florida Highway Patrol officer, officials said. Federal authorities have nabbed several illegal immigrants in the process of trying to obtain employment in law enforcement and education.

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One Sierra Leone citizen was recently arrested as he was training to become a Pennsylvania corrections officer.

Another illegal immigrant, Ian Roberts, served as the former superintendent of Iowa’s largest district, Des Moines Public Schools, before he was arrested by ICE.

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Southeast

High school teacher arrested in alleged sex case involving student

Published

2 days ago

February 26, 2026

Press Room

High school teacher arrested in alleged sex case involving student

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A Georgia high school teacher was arrested Wednesday after allegations of inappropriate contact between a teacher and a minor student surfaced at Lee County High School.

Danielle Weaver, 29, of Leesburg, is charged with child molestation and improper sexual contact by an employee, agent or foster parent, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigations (GBI).

Lee County High School requested the Leesburg Police Department investigate the allegations on Feb. 3, and the GBI was called to assist the following day.

Danielle Weaver, 29, of Leesburg, Ga., is charged with child molestation and improper sexual contact by an employee. (Lee County Sheriff’s Office)

Investigators identified Weaver as the “subject,” and identified the victim as a student under 18 years old at Lee County High School, according to officials.

GBI agents continued the investigation along with the Leesburg Police Department, and arrest warrants were obtained for Weaver on Tuesday.

A Google Maps street view photo of Lee County High School in Leesburg, Ga. (Google Maps)

NEBRASKA TEACHER ALLEGEDLY OFFERED TO ‘SHARE’ BOYFRIEND WITH STUDENT IN SEX TRAFFICKING CASE

Weaver turned herself in to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday, and was later released on bond, according to a report from WALB News.

This investigation is active and ongoing, according to the GBI.

The incident allegedly happened at a high school in Georgia. (Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

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Once complete, the case file will be given to the Southwestern Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office for prosecution.

Leesburg is located in South Georgia, and is about an hour and a half north of Tallahassee, Florida.

Lee County High School’s communications team did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Alexandra Koch is a Fox News Digital journalist who covers breaking news, with a focus on high-impact events that shape national conversation.

She has covered major national crises, including the L.A. wildfires, Potomac and Hudson River aviation disasters, Boulder terror attack, and Texas Hill Country floods.

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