Diego Ibarra, brother of Laken Riley murder suspect, pleads guilty to fake green card

MACON, Ga. - Diego Ibarra, the brother of a man accused of murdering an Augusta University student on the campus of the University of Georgia, has pleaded guilty to possessing a fake green card.

Diego is a Venezuelan citizen. He was originally 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.

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.

He 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.

On July 15, Diego 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.

A third Ibarra brother, 24-year-old Argenis Ibarra, as well as a former roommate, 29-year-old Rosbeli Flores-Bello, were also indicted with two counts each of possession of a fraudulent document. They face the same potential punishments.

Argenis made his first court appearance on July 11.

Flores-Bello's detention hearing is scheduled for July 16 in San Antonio, Texas.

Who is Diego Ibarra?

Diego Ibarra is a 29-year-old Venezuelan national who was arrested on Feb. 23 and charged with green card fraud.

Federal prosecutors believe that Diego Ibarra may have ties to Tren de Argua, an organized crime gang based in Venezuela, based on the five-pointed crown he has tattooed on the left side of his neck and the five-pointed star he has on the right side. The markings are said to be commonly found among TdA members.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Diego had been arrested three times before his latest arrest in Athens. The first was in September for driving under the influence of alcohol and driving without a license. The following month, he was charged with theft by shoplifting. In December, he was arrested for failure to appear for a fingerprintable offense.

The University of Georgia confirmed Diego Ibarra also used the faulty green card to gain temporary employment at the school as a dishwasher in the Bolton Dining Hall on campus. He was hired on Feb. 6, 2024.

MORE: ICE says Georgia murder suspect's brother was previously arrested, but detainers were ignored

Who is Jose Ibarra?

The man accused of killing Laken Riley, Jose Antonio Ibarra, was arrested for illegal entry in September 2022 near El Paso, Texas, amid an unprecedented surge in migration and released to pursue his case in immigration court.

It is unclear if Ibarra, 26, followed those instructions or applied for asylum. Federal officials say he was arrested by New York police in August for child endangerment, and later released. New York officials said they had no record of the arrest.

Ibarra was living in Athens when Laken Riley, an Augusta University nursing student, was killed on the campus of UGA.

Ibarra's arrest has thrust the brutal slaying to the forefront of the U.S. debate over immigration, a top issue in the 2024 presidential campaign.

He pleaded not guilty to her murder, appearing in court in Clarke County in May.

According to new documents obtained by FOX 5, the District Attorney for the Western Judicial Circuit is seeking a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Ibarra was indicted on 10 charges by a grand jury on May 8. Nine of the charges were felonies, including malice murder, three felony murder charges, kidnapping, aggravated assault with intent to rape, aggravated battery, tampering with evidence, and peeping tom. The remaining charge of interfering with a call for emergency help is a misdemeanor.

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