Southeast
Illegal immigrant charged in Laken Riley murder ‘fast-tracking’ to life in prison: attorney
Jose Ibarra, the suspect charged with murdering Augusta University student Laken Riley on the University of Georgia campus in February, is “fast-tracking himself to life” in prison by choosing a bench trial over a jury trial, according to Georgia-based criminal defense attorney Philip Holloway.
Ibarra, 26, allegedly attacked and murdered Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student, while she was jogging along highly frequented pedestrian trails on UGA’s campus on the morning of Feb. 22.
Holloway told Fox News Digital on Tuesday that he does not “understand the tactics” of Ibarra’s defense asking for a bench trial over a jury trial on Tuesday, which state prosecutors agreed to and Judge Patrick Haggard granted. Ibarra’s trial is now scheduled to begin on Friday instead of Monday, when a jury trial would have taken place.
“He’s fast-tracking himself to life without parole by doing this,” Holloway said. “It certainly will speed things up. … From a legal perspective, I don’t know why the defense would do this.”
LAKEN RILEY MURDER SUSPECT WANTS CERTAIN EVIDENCE SUPPRESSED WITH TRIAL DATE SET
Jose Ibarra is shown in court for a motion hearing on Oct. 11, 2024, in Athens, Ga. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson/Pool)
Holloway added that by choosing a bench trial, Ibarra is giving away his “Hail Mary shot” at “getting a juror” to question his guilt. In other words, instead of having the possibility of a single juror questioning the evidence presented against Ibarra and resulting in a mistrial, the murder suspect has instead chosen to present evidence before a judge who will then decide his fate.
Holloway added that the “evidence of guilt is overwhelming” in Ibarra’s murder case.
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Laken Riley was found dead near a lake on campus on Feb. 22, 2024. (Laken Riley/Facebook)
“The evidentiary presentation is going to be much faster” with a bench trial, the criminal defense attorney said, and the prosecution and defense may even choose to forgo opening and closing statements like they would in a jury trial because it is not necessary in a bench trial.
Ibarra and his brothers, also in the United States illegally from Venezuela, lived in an apartment building on the edge of the on-campus park where Riley was running. Ibarra allegedly murdered the aspiring nurse in what UGA Police Chief Jeffrey Clark described as a “crime of opportunity.”
Jose Ibarra appears in court for a pretrial evidence hearing in Athens, Ga., on Nov. 1, 2024. (Robin Rayne for Fox News Digital)
In May, a Georgia grand jury indicted Ibarra on counts of malice murder, two counts of kidnapping with bodily injury, two counts of aggravated assault with intent to rape, two counts of aggravated battery, obstructing or hindering a person from making a 911 call, tampering with evidence and being a “peeping Tom.”
The peeping Tom charge stems from another Feb. 22 incident in which the suspect allegedly went to a residence on UGA’s campus in Athens and “peeped through” a window and “spied upon” a university staff member, according to the indictment.
Laken Riley was a nursing student at Augusta University. (Allyson Phillips/Facebook)
Ibarra recently tried to have the “peeping Tom” charge removed from his case, but prosecutors argued that the two incidents are “inextricably intertwined,” and Haggard ultimately decided not to sever the charge.
The judge is also permitting DNA and cellphone evidence that Ibarra’s defense wanted to suppress.
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This is a general view of the area where Laken Riley’s body was found near Lake Herrick on the University of Georgia’s campus in Athens on Feb. 24, 2024. (Mark Sims for Fox News Digital)
The 26-year-old suspect is due back in court on Nov. 15 for his trial. Jury selection for his trial was scheduled to begin on Wednesday, Nov. 13, before he requested a bench trial.
Ibarra illegally crossed into the United States through El Paso, Texas, in September 2022 and was released into the U.S. via parole, ICE and DHS sources previously told Fox News. His older brother, Diego Ibarra, is charged with green card fraud and had ties to a known Venezuelan gang in the U.S. called Tren de Aragua, according to federal court documents.
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Diego Ibarra is shown posing with multiple handguns on his social media accounts, according to court filings. (Middle District of Georgia)
Riley’s death was frequently mentioned throughout the 2024 presidential election as Republicans and Democrats debated the implications of record illegal immigration across the U.S.-Mexico border over the last four years.
Rachel Morin of Maryland, Jocelyn Nungaray of Texas, Lizbeth Medina of Texas, Ruby Garcia of Michigan and Maria Gonzalez of Texas are females allegedly killed by illegal immigrants over the past two years.
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Southeast
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.
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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
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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.”
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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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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)
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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.
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