An undocumented Venezuelan man, the sibling of the suspect in a grisly University of Georgia campus murder, has been slapped with charges for sporting a phony green card, federal authorities announced.
Diego Ibarra, 29, currently cooling his heels in state custody, was hit with federal charges for possession of the fake immigration document—his brother, Jose Antonio Ibarra, 26, also of Venezuela, is tangled in state legal proceedings for a laundry list of charges including malice and felony murder, officials said. Federal authorities swooped in on Diego after an officious Athens-Clarke County Police Department officer, on the prowl for suspects tied to the homicide of Laken Hope Riley, found that Ibarra's paperwork was less than legit.
According to a Justice Department statement, when confronted today, Ibarra flashed a green card that turned out to be counterfeit, unmasking his undocumented status which first pinged on Homeland Security Investigations radar on February 23. Although Ibarra was initially processed for the fast track back to Venezuela, he claimed fear of return and was let out on the streets, pending an asylum hearing that was penciled in last year.
However, Ibarra's troubles with the law aren't new, as the complaint digs up a trio of run-ins with local law dogs: a DUI, a kleptomaniacal indiscretion, and one instance where he gave the slip to the authorities who wanted his prints on record. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mike Morrison has the reins on prosecution, with an initial court appearance for Ibarra yet to be scheduled.
The tangled case has a slew of agencies on the hunt, including HSI, FBI, and GBI, supported by the local boys in blue and university cops. Until he faces the beak, Ibarra, like all defendants, is shrouded in the presumption of innocence despite the charges stacked against him.
