Laken Riley murder: Judge denies motion to supress evidence for Jose Ibarra

ATHENS, Ga. - Jose Ibarra, the man accused of killing nursing student Laken Riley on the University of Georgia campus, and his brother were arrested, detained, and searched properly, an Athens-Clarke County judge ruled on Friday.

Ibarra’s attorneys were seeking to block the introduction of his cellphone as well as DNA and fingerprint evidence from the upcoming trial, but Superior Court Judge H. Patrick Haggard denied those requests.

Ibarra is charged with murder and other crimes in the February killing of Riley. A 10-count indictment accuses Ibarra of hitting the 22-year-old Augusta University College of Nursing student in the head, asphyxiating her and pulling up her clothing with the intent to sexually assault her. Ibarra pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Prosecutors previously announced evidence against Ibarra, including a thumbprint from Riley's phone, DNA from her fingernails, and video footage.

Ibarra’s cellphone within scope of search warrant

The Athens-Clarke County Police Department served a search warrant at the Argo apartment complex, where Ibarra lived with his brother. The search was conducted a day after Riley’s body was found just 500 feet away on the campus of UGA.

Multiple items were seized during the search of the apartment, including two cell phones. Additional search warrants were obtained to pull the data off those phones with the assistance of the FBI. According to court documents, the warrants were to search for evidence not only about "possible crimes committed since September 1, 2022," but also Ibarra’s possible being involved in a child molestation incident. Search warrants were also obtained to search 10 electronic devices and his social media accounts.

Defense attorneys argued the cellphones exceeded the scope of the search warrant and there was a lack of probable cause to seize all ten electronic devices. They further argued the search warrants for the data on the phone were too broad. Judge Haggard ruled on Friday that "none of these arguments warrant excluding" the evidence.

The judge also ruled that the cellphone seizure fell under the clause in the search warrant that "[a]ny item or article that could be used in the commission of the crime." He also wrote in his opinion that the date was not overly broad as September 2022 was when the FBI believes the brothers entered the United States illegally.

Diego Ibarra’s arrest was legal

Also, a point of argument by the defense was the detainment of Ibarra’s brother. Police testified Diego Ibarra looked similar to the person seen throwing away evidence in a nearby dumpster. In addition, the clothing that person was seen wearing appeared similar to clothing he later was found wearing. Once officers learned of his fake Green Card, police said they had cause to arrest him for a felony.

Defense attorneys also argued that a "protective sweep" conducted by an officer, who was given permission to enter the apartment to turn off a stove, was unconstitutional. The judge disagreed, writing that it is "permissible when officers reasonably believe" it is "necessary to protect or preserve life or to avoid serious injury to the officers or others." The "sweep" is how the officer found Ibarra in a bed in the apartment. The judge further said that Ibarra would have inevitably been discovered in a search of the apartment.

DNA, fingerprint evidence admissible in Ibarra murder trial

The judge also took up the question of DNA and fingerprint evidence the defense was seeking to exclude. He cited a blind peer-review of the evidence that points to the accuracy. He further ruled that the defense can introduce its own evidence during the trial if they believe there were false positives with the evidence.

As for the fingerprints, he pointed to the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, based in Atlanta, which recently stated: "fingerprint evidence has long been accepted in our Circuit and the cure for questionable, but admissible, evidence is cross-examination, not exclusion."

The judge cited multiple Supreme Court cases supporting his rulings.

The defense has filed a motion to reconsider these rulings.

A pretrial motions hearing is scheduled for Nov. 12 with jury selection scheduled to begin on Nov. 13. Ibarra’s trial is scheduled to begin with opening statements at 9 a.m. on Nov. 18.