Suspect in Murder of UGA Student Was Arrested Last Year, ICE Says

The 26-year-old Venezuelan man charged with killing Georgia nursing student Laken Riley this week had a prior criminal history, a spokeswoman for ICE revealed Sunday.

Jose Ibarra, who was arrested in connection with Riley’s death on Friday, had been charged with endangering a minor when he was caught driving an unregistered car with his child inside in September 2023, ICE spokeswoman Lindsay Williams said in a statement to The Daily Beast.

Williams confirmed that the suspect illegally crossed into the U.S. near El Paso, Texas, in 2022. Ibarra was “paroled and released for further processing,” and eventually made his way to New York City, where he was arrested a year later. “He was released by the NYPD before a detainer could be issued,” Williams added.

Read more at The Daily Beast.