Diego Ibarra, the older brother of the illegal immigrant charged with killing Laken Riley, tried to bite a Border Patrol agent in the face but was still released by the Biden administration last year, prosecutors revealed in new court documents.
Authorities also said Mr. Ibarra has tattoos that link him to Tren de Aragua, a gang based in Venezuela that authorities say is quickly infiltrating the U.S. by taking advantage of the border chaos to slip gang members into the country.
Mr. Ibarra is the older brother of Jose Ibarra, who is accused of accosting and beating to death Riley, who had gone for a morning run on the campus of the University of Georgia.
Prosecutors revealed a disturbing portrait of Diego Ibarra, saying that in addition to attacking the Border Patrol agent, he had also possessed a handgun here in the U.S. — something that’s against the law for an illegal immigrant.
The new information came in a filing by prosecutors asking that Diego Ibarra be held in detention pending his trial.
A judge agreed and signed an order that Diego Ibarra remain in custody, citing his history of absconding and his already lengthy criminal record in his short time here.
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The Ibarra brothers have quickly become a galvanizing force in the immigration debate, with those seeking stiffer border security saying they are examples of the kinds of people who are sneaking into the U.S. under President Biden’s more relaxed approach to immigration enforcement.
Both brothers were caught and released then went on to notch more criminal entanglements here, though they were never detained by Homeland Security. That meant Jose Ibarra was out in the community on Feb. 22, the day Riley was slain.
Prosecutors say Diego Ibarra was snared in that investigation.
From a surveillance camera, local police had identified a Hispanic man wearing a baseball cap with an Adidas logo as the suspect. An officer spotted Diego Ibarra, who had the hat and looked like the person in the photo.
Diego Ibarra eventually showed what turned out to be a fake green card as his identification. Prosecutors said the card was clearly fake due to its “poor quality,” listing two different birth dates for him.
He first tried to jump the border on April 3, 2023, but was quickly expelled under the Title 42 pandemic border policy.
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Later that month he tried again, sneaking in as part of a group of five. Border Patrol agents caught two of them. The other man, Jose Salas-Lozado, also Venezuelan, punched an agent in the face and then struggled for four minutes before he was handcuffed with the assistance of National Guard troops, according to court documents.
He pleaded guilty to assaulting a federal officer and is serving a 16-month sentence.
During the arrest, Mr. Ibarra attempted to bite an agent and tried to run away. He later told an FBI agent he was trying to avoid apprehension “at any cost.” He wasn’t prosecuted and instead, on May 11, was released by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on condition that he wear an ankle monitor bracelet.
But by May 25, he had cut off the bracelet and was officially listed as an absconder.
He would go on to be arrested on Sept. 24 in Athens, Georgia, for driving under the influence of methamphetamine — authorities said he was traveling 80 miles an hour in a 40-mile-per-hour zone — and had to be forcefully removed from the vehicle. He would later fail to appear for his court date.
On Sept. 26, police were called to his home for a domestic dispute. Neither he nor his girlfriend, who made the call, were arrested.
On Oct. 27, Diego Ibarra was detained along with his brother for shoplifting at a Walmart. They were issued citations and urged to think about a pre-arrest diversion program.
On Dec. 8, Diego Ibarra was arrested at the same Walmart for shoplifting, and for the failure to appear for the DUI.
Authorities connected Diego Ibarra to the Tren de Aragua gang, based in Venezuela but with transnational reach, through tattoos and social media posts. They said he has a five-point crown tattoo on his neck, and in social media posts, he is flashing a gang sign associated with Tren de Aragua.
In some posts, he also poses with a pistol.
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.
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