Prison for immigrants arrested during Laken Riley murder investigation

Laken Hope Riley

Released today by the U.S. Justice Department:

ATHENS, Ga. – A Venezuelan man who entered the United States illegally and who admitted to possessing a fraudulent Green Card during the murder investigation of a 22-year-old nursing student was sentenced to serve 48 months in prison—above the federal sentencing guidelines—and to be deported along with his brother and a former roommate.

Diego Jose Ibarra, aka “Gocho,” 29, was sentenced to serve a total of 48 months in prison after he pleaded guilty to two counts of possession of a fraudulent document on July 15, 2024. Argenis Ibarra, aka “Meny,” 25, of Venezuela, was sentenced to time served after he pleaded guilty to one count of possession of a fraudulent document on Dec. 10, 2024. Rosbeli Flores-Bello, aka “La Gorda,” 29, of Venezuela, was sentenced to time served after she pleaded guilty to one count of possession of a fraudulent document on Dec. 11, 2024.

All three defendants are to be delivered to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for deportation. Diego Ibarra will be placed in ICE custody at the conclusion of his federal prison sentence; Argenis Ibarra and Flores-Bello will be placed in ICE custody immediately. U.S. District Judge Tilman E. Self, III handed down the sentences on March 19 in Athens. There is no parole in the federal system.

According to court documents and statements referenced in court, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) was made aware of Deigo Ibarra’s undocumented presence in the United States on Feb. 23, 2024, during the murder investigation of Laken Hope Riley, who was kidnapped and brutally murdered on Feb. 22, 2024, during a morning run at the University of Georgia, where she previously attended as an undergraduate prior to transferring to the Augusta University College of Nursing. At the time, an Athens-Clarke County Police Department (ACCPD) officer approached Diego Ibarra because he matched the description of the primary suspect in the murder investigation, which was his brother, Jose Antonio Ibarra. Diego Ibarra gave the ACCPD officer a counterfeit U.S. Permanent Resident Card (also called a Green Card) as identification and was taken into custody. Jose Ibarra was convicted of Laken Riley’s murder on Nov. 20, 2024, in Athens-Clarke County Superior Court and is serving a life sentence.

On April 30, 2023, Diego Ibarra illegally entered the United States, along with four other Venezuelan men, by crossing the border near the Ysleta station in El Paso, Texas. The men fled when approached by the United States Border Patrol (USBP) agents. Diego Ibarra resisted an agent’s efforts to detain him and grabbed the agent’s service radio, threw it into a nearby yard, and then attempted to bite the agent. Agents scuffled with him and another Venezuelan man for several minutes before the National Guard arrived and assisted in subduing both men. Diego Ibarra was taken to a local hospital after complaining of chest pains and pain in his back and leg, which he indicated to FBI agents he sustained from scaling and falling from the border fence during his illegal crossing. He admitted to illegally crossing the border, resisting arrest and attempting to avoid apprehension at any cost. He said his injuries were not from the fight with agents.

According to information uncovered during the investigation and provided in multiple court documents, Diego Ibarra is likely affiliated with the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua (TdA), based on evidence including his multiple TdA tattoos and photos of him on social media making the TdA gang signs and wearing TdA clothing. Further investigation concluded that Diego Ibarra was previously removed from the United States to Mexico on April 3, 2023, after agents apprehended him illegally entering the United States near Eagle Pass, Texas. After the above incident on April 30, 2023, Diego Ibarra claimed asylum and fear of return to Venezuela. On May 11, 2023, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) placed him in the Alternatives to Detention (ATD) program, and he was released from immigration custody the following day. The ATD program required Diego Ibarra to wear a global positioning system (GPS) ankle monitoring device, and he was directed to report to New York, New York, pending asylum proceedings. He failed to report in New York as directed.

On May 25, 2023, Diego Ibarra’s ankle monitor last “pinged” near Littleton, Colorado, and he cut it off at some point prior to his final arrest in Athens, Georgia. Diego Ibarra settled in Athens and was subsequently arrested three times by law enforcement: on Sept. 24, 2023, he was arrested by ACCPD for driving under the influence of alcohol and driving without a license; on Oct. 27, 2023, he was arrested by ACCPD for theft by shoplifting; and on Dec. 8, 2023, he was arrested by ACCPD for shoplifting and for an outstanding arrest warrant that was issued when he failed to appear in court for his DUI charge. In addition, ACCPD responded to a domestic incident involving Diego Ibarra and his girlfriend on Sept. 26, 2023. And, while in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service and housed in the Butts County Detention Center, Ibarra caused “severe water damage” inside the jail when he damaged the fire sprinkler system in a jail cell block. On June 25, 2024, jail officers found Ibarra in possession of two improvised weapons: a sharpened sprinkler head with a make-shift grip and a pen wrapped in saran wrap.

Co-defendants Argenis Ibarra (Diego and Jose Ibarra’s younger brother) and Flores-Bello (Deigo and Jose Ibarra’s roommate) admitted to possessing a fraudulent U.S. Permanent Resident Card in the names of Argenis Jose Ibarra Ibarra and Rodrianny Brito Brito respectively on Feb. 23, 2024. In addition, agents found counterfeit Social Security cards for Argenis Ibarra and Flores-Bello in the apartment they shared with Diego and Jose Ibarra.

Investigators determined that Argenis Ibarra entered the United States illegally on April 3, 2023, near Eagle Pass, Texas, and the USBP returned him to Mexico. On April 30, 2023, the USBP encountered and arrested him near El Paso, Texas, and transported him to an ICE processing center in El Paso. Because the processing center lacked space, Ibarra was released on his own recognizance on May 4, 2023. Argenis submitted Form I-765 for Employment Authorization on Oct. 20, 2023, and Nov. 2, 2023, both of which were rejected.

Flores-Bello illegally entered the United States on May 3, 2023, and was arrested by the USBP. She was transported to an ICE processing center in El Paso. On May 5, 2023, Flores-Bello was released on her own recognizance because the processing center lacked space. She provided a residential address in New York and was scheduled for immigration court there on Oct. 18, 2023. In Dec. 2023, she and Jose Ibarra, whom she met in New York, took a humanitarian flight from New York to Atlanta, Georgia. She settled in Athens and lived with the Ibarra brothers until Laken Riley was murdered.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).

The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) with critical assistance from FBI, GBI, Athens-Clarke County Police Department, University of Georgia Police Department and Clarke County Sheriff’s Office.