Jose Ibarra (Twitter/@BrianEntin)
Jose Ibarra, an illegal immigrant and Tren de Aragua gang member from Venezuela, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole on Wednesday for the murder of 22-year-old nursing student Laken Riley.
Judge H. Patrick Haggard found the 26-year-old Venezuelan guilty of malice murder, felony murder, kidnapping with bodily injury, aggravated assault with intent to rape, aggravated battery, obstructing a person making an emergency call, tampering with evidence, and peeping Tom, CNN reported.
Ibarra waived his right to a jury trial after pleading not guilty to the 10-count indictment.
Ibarra entered the United States illegally through El Paso, Texas, in September 2022 and was released via parole just a day after being taken into custody, Fox News reported. In September 2023, Ibarra was staying for free at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York, which was used as a temporary migrant housing center. He then took a free flight from New York City to Atlanta, Georgia, paid for with federal money under the Biden-Harris administration, the New York Post reported.
Less than six months later in February, Ibarra killed Riley, an Augusta University nursing student, while she was jogging on the University of Georgia’s campus in Athens.
Riley’s murder drew national attention as calls for stricter border policies dominated the 2024 election. Former president Donald Trump and other Republicans met with Riley’s family and blamed the Biden-Harris administration for her death.
"Biden has implemented a formal policy that illegal aliens who intrude into the United States are granted immunity from deportation," Trump said in March. "Thus, when this monster showed up at our border, he was set free immediately under the program. That crooked Joe created it."
In reports of the verdict, mainstream media outlets, including the Associated Press, NBC, and CBS, identified Ibarra as "a man" or "the man" instead of an illegal immigrant though officials reported his illegal entry into the United States.
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