Laken Riley’s murder suspect wants to withhold some evidence as his trial date is set

Jose Ibarra, an illegal immigrant from Venezuela indicted The February murder of Laken RileyHe is scheduled to appear in court on Friday for a hearing to argue that certain evidence, including cellphone data and DNA, should not be admitted in his trial.

Ibarra’s defense has previously filed motions to suppress cellphone evidence that his lawyers say was obtained illegally by law enforcement agencies, and testimony from a witness who performed DNA testing during Riley’s autopsy, maintaining that the results “did not rule out the defendant, but also did not rule out another known person connected to the case.”

The hearing will be held approximately two weeks before Ibarra’s trial is scheduled to begin on November 18 in Athens-Clarke County, Georgia.

Ibarra, 26, is accused of attacking and killing Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student at Augusta University, as she ran along a dirt path on the campus of the University of Georgia in Athens on the morning of Feb. 22.

LAKEN RILEY MURDER: SUSPECTED ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT IN GEORGIA COLLEGE ASKS TO HIDE CERTAIN EVIDENCE

Jose Ibarra appears in court for a status hearing in the Laken Riley murder case. (LIBRA)

In May, a Georgia grand jury indicted Ibarra on charges of malice murder, two counts of kidnapping with bodily injury, two counts of assault with intent to rape, two counts of aggravated battery, obstructing or obstructing a 911 call, tampering with evidence and being “ voyeur.”

The Peeping Tom charges stem from another incident that occurred on February 22, during which the suspect allegedly went to: stay on the UGA campuswhere he “peered” through the window and “spyed” on a university employee – as the indictment accuses him of.

Laken Riley’s murder suspect is charged

Laken Riley smiles for a photo while running. Riley, a nursing student from Georgia, was found dead near a lake on the University of Georgia campus on February 22, 2024. (Laken Riley/Instagram)

Ibarra tried to have the “voyeur Tom” charge removed from his case, but prosecutors say the two incidents are “inextricably linked.”

READ THE ORDER TO REFUSE IBARRY’S APPLICATION FOR Severance. MOBILE USERS CLICK HERE.

“File 10 allegedly took place on the same morning that Ms Riley was murdered and the alleged offenses took place within 300 meters of each other. …The defendant’s alleged crimes are inextricably linked because he allegedly went to one apartment complex, failed to enter the woman’s apartment, and then went to a nearby wooded area where students often run or exercise,” prosecutors wrote in a court document filed on Oct. 28 .

JOSE IBARRA MURDER SUSPECTED IN LAKER Riley pleads not guilty, mother sobs in court

Jose Ibarra was arrested on February 23 in connection with the February 22 murder of Laken Riley in Athens, Georgia. (Clarke County Sheriff’s Office)

Ultimately, the court ordered that Tom’s peeping charge should not be separated from his case.

LAKEN RILEY’S FATHER SAYS SUSPECT ‘MIGHT NOT BE HERE’ IF THE BORDER WAS SAFE

Ibarra and his brothers, also illegally in Venezuela in the United States, lived in an apartment building on the edge of a park on campus where Riley ran. Ibarra allegedly murdered an aspiring nurse UGA Police Chief Jeffrey Clark described as a “crime of opportunity”.

Laken Riley poses for a photo posted on Facebook. Riley, an Augusta University nursing student, was found dead near a lake on the University of Georgia campus on February 22, 2024. (Allyson Phillips/Facebook)

The quiet, wooded loop Riley ran that morning is easily accessible from behind the Ibarra apartment complex. It takes five minutes from Ibarra’s door to the approximate location where Riley was found dead.

The 26-year-old suspect entered the United States illegally through this route El Paso Texas in September 2022 and was released to the United States on parole, ICE and DHS sources previously told Fox News.

Federal court documents show his older brother, Diego Ibarra, is charged with green card fraud and has ties to a notorious Venezuelan gang in the U.S. called Tren de Aragua.

According to federal prosecutors, illegal immigrants cannot legally own guns in the US. However, court documents show that Department of Homeland Security officers observed Diego Ibarra posing with multiple guns on his social media accounts. (Middle District of Georgia)

Riley’s death was mentioned frequently during the 2024 presidential election as Republicans and Democrats debated the consequences of illegal immigration over the past four years.

Rachel Morin of Maryland, Jocelyn Nungaray of Texas, Lizbeth Medina of Texas, Ruby Garcia of Michigan and Maria Gonzalez of Texas are among the women allegedly murdered by undocumented immigrants in the last two years.

Most recently former President Clinton raised the issue of Riley’s murder during a visit to Georgia on behalf of Vice President Kamala Harris and Gov. Tim Walz, R-Minn.

Laken Riley poses for a photo posted on Facebook. Riley, a nursing student at Augusta University, was found dead near a lake on the University of Georgia campus on February 22. An illegal immigrant was accused of her murder. (Laken Riley/Facebook)

“(Harris is) the only candidate who actually supported a bill that would limit immigration in a given year to a certain point and then give people a decent place to live and not separate people from their children. And we did a complete background check before people went inside. Now Trump has repealed the bill,” Clinton said during a campaign stop.

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“You recently had a case in Georgia, right? They made an announcement about it. Young woman killed by immigrant. Yes, well, if they had all been checked properly, probably nothing would have happened,” the former president said.

Republicans argued this Democratic immigration policy Under the Biden-Harris administration, a record 7.2 million illegal immigrants entered the country in four years, a number greater than population of 36 states.