The illegal immigrant convicted of murdering nursing student Laken Riley sought a new trial Friday, with a judge declining to rule after hearing arguments.

Jose Ibarra, who is serving life in prison without the possibility of parole, appeared in Athens-Clarke County Superior Court, where Judge Patrick Haggard heard arguments from Ibarra’s post-conviction attorneys and declined to rule from the bench.

Haggard ordered both sides to submit supplementary briefs and responses by Monday, March 2, before he decides whether a new trial is warranted.

During the hearing, Haggard said a court-ordered mental evaluation reviewed by the court found Ibarra was competent at the time of the crime and during his 2024 trial, rejecting a central argument raised by the defense.

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The defense called Dr. Ruth Ballard, an expert in forensic serology and forensic DNA, whose testimony focused on physical evidence collected during the investigation and previously presented to the jury. Defense attorneys sought to cast doubt on evidence linking Ibarra to Riley’s murder and suggested alternative explanations for her death.

Ballard testified that a pair of bloodstained gloves recovered near Ibarra’s home contained mostly Laken Riley’s DNA, along with DNA from at least one other unidentified individual, but did not contain Ibarra’s DNA. She also testified that no male DNA was found on Riley’s sexual assault evidence kit.

On cross-examination, Prosecutor Sheila Ross challenged the defense’s suggestion that Ibarra’s older brother, Diego, could have committed the crime. Ballard confirmed that Y-STR testing showed the DNA found under Riley’s fingernails belonged to either Jose Ibarra or his brother Argenis, and that TRULEO testing identified the DNA as Jose Ibarra’s, excluding both Argenis and Diego.

Ballard also agreed that a victim fighting off her attacker and scratching him would likely have the attacker’s DNA under her fingernails. She testified that her conclusions were limited to forensic serology and DNA analysis, and did not take into account trace evidence, fingerprint evidence, or video evidence.

Ibarra was found guilty on all 10 counts in November 2024 for the Feb. 22, 2024, killing of Riley, 22, who was attacked while running on the University of Georgia campus. Prosecutors said Riley died during a violent struggle with Ibarra.

Riley was a student at Augusta University’s College of Nursing, which also maintains a campus in Athens, about 70 miles east of Atlanta.

Ibarra’s legal team has already obtained a mental evaluation as part of the appeals process, claiming he was not competent to stand trial. Friday’s hearing focused on whether alleged errors during the original proceedings justify a new trial.

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Federal immigration authorities previously said Ibarra entered the United States illegally in 2022 and was allowed to remain in the country while his immigration case was pending.

Riley’s murder became a central issue during President Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign, highlighting concerns about illegal immigration and violent crime. Last year, Trump signed the Laken Riley Act into law, which requires the detention of unauthorized immigrants accused of violent crimes or theft.

Ibarra is currently serving a life sentence without parole in a Georgia state prison.

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Fox News’ Samanatha Daigle contributed to this report. 

Stepheny Price covers crime, including missing persons, homicides and migrant crime. Send story tips to stepheny.price@fox.com.

A Palestinian immigrant was convicted by a federal jury in North Carolina of plotting to arrange the murders of three people by his fellow inmates after having pleaded guilty to having tried to murder others, authorities said Friday. 

Nahro Sudoi Innab, 70, of Rocky Mount, N.C., was found guilty of three counts of making an interstate call in a murder-for-hire scheme, the Justice Department said. 

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“This Palestinian immigrant came here to take advantage of the American dream, but he has repeatedly tried to hire thugs to murder his perceived enemies,” said Ellis Boyle, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina.

Innab was sitting in jail waiting to start his prison term in a separate murder-for-hire plot when he tried to pay off other inmates $10,000 to kill three men. 

The intended victims were Rocky Mount small business owners, federal prosecutors said. A cooperating defendant informed the FBI of the plot and captured an audio recording of Innab’s murderous plan.

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“Even after being federally charged, arrested, and pleading guilty to a murder for hire plot, Nahro Innab continued his demented and dangerous plans,” said James C. Barnacle Jr., the FBI Special Agent in Charge in North Carolina.

Barnacle said a coordinated law enforcement effort thwarted the multiple murder plots, adding that Innab will be “safely behind prison bars for years to come.”

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Innab faces up to 30 years in prison for the new crimes. 

Bodycam footage obtained by Fox News Digital showed Olympic gold medal sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson “begging” an officer not to arrest her after she was caught driving recklessly.

Sgt. Gerald McDaniels, driving in the center lane, spotted the Olympian flashing her brights at the car in front of her and announced that Richardson’s Aston Martin topped 104 mph on State Road 429 near Stoneybrook Parkway in Winter Garden, Florida. The officer reached speeds of at least 110 mph in order to catch up.

“I would wipe that smile off your face,” the sergeant told Richardson upon approaching her passenger window. “You’re being stopped for dangerous, excessive speed.”

Richardson said her back tire was at 29 PSI and that her phone slipped, switching the mode in her car and causing her to speed. That did not please McDaniels.

“You’re driving at 104 miles an hour in a 65 mile-an-hour zone with subpar equipment, flashing people to get out of your lane, following too close, using every lane to pass everybody, cutting me off, passing a car on the inside shoulder with your hazard lights on. You’re going to jail for dangerous excessive speeding,” he said.

Richardson replied that she did not know she was speeding, to which the sergeant answered, “That’s why they give you a speedometer.”

“I am a law-abiding citizen, sir,” Richardson, who was arrested for assaulting her boyfriend, fellow Olympic sprinter Christian Coleman, last year, kicked off a plane in 2023, and barred from the Tokyo Olympics due to a positive marijuana test, said.

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After some back and forth, the officer’s decision was final, and reality set in for Richardson, who said there was “no intention” for her to break the law.

“Please sir. I really was not intentionally speeding. Sir, please. I’m begging you,” Richardson said. “Don’t take me to jail. I will do everything. Please, sir. I promise you, I don’t want to go to jail, I’m right here.”

The police report, also obtained by Fox News Digital, said that Coleman showed up to the scene and was arrested for resisting after refusing to identify himself. His car was found to have smoking paraphernalia. Another sprinter, Twanisha Terry, also arrived.

Richardson and Coleman moved past their issue last year, which occurred at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on July 27, just one week before the U.S. Track and Field Championships. Coleman declined to be a victim in the case, a police report said, and made it clear that he wanted to move on from the “sucky situation.”

Richardson has an Olympic gold medal from the 2024 4×100-meter relay in Paris, and she won the 100 meters at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest. Both Richardson and Coleman won world titles in 2023 and 2025 in their respective 4x100s.

Richardson settled for silver in the 100 meters in Paris, while Coleman still awaits an Olympic medal — he did win the 100 and 4×100 at the 2019 World Championships.

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