Laken Riley murder suspect ‘fast tracking’ to life in prison: attorney

Jose Ibarra, the suspect accused of killing Augusta University student Laken Riley on the University of Georgia campus in February, is “accelerating himself to life” in prison by choosing a judicial trial over a jury trial, according to the Georgia-based criminal defense. attorney Philip Holloway.

Ibarra, 26, allegedly attacked and killed Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student, while she was jogging. frequented sidewalks on UGA’s campus on the morning of February 22.

Holloway told Fox News Digital on Tuesday that he “doesn’t understand the tactics” of Ibarra’s defense and is asking for a trial instead of a jury trial on Tuesday, which prosecutors agreed to and Judge Patrick Haggard authorized. Ibarra’s trial will now start on Friday instead of Monday, when a jury trial would have taken place.

“By doing this, he is speeding himself to life without parole,” Holloway said. “It will definitely speed things up. … From a legal perspective, I don’t know why the defense would do this.”

LAKEN RILEY MURDER SUSPECT WANTS TO SUPPRESS CERTAIN EVIDENCE WITH TRIAL DATE SET

Jose Ibarra will appear in court for a hearing on October 11, 2024 in Athens, Georgia. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson/Pool)

Holloway added that by choosing a test bench, Ibarra gives away his “Hail Mary opportunity” to “get a juror” to question his guilt. In other words, rather than having the possibility of a single juror questioning the evidence against Ibarra and resulting in a mistrial, the murder suspect has instead chosen to present evidence to a judge who then decides fate will decide.

Holloway added that the “evidence of guilt is overwhelming” in Ibarra’s murder case.

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Laken Riley was found dead at a lake on campus on February 22, 2024. (Laken Riley/Facebook)

“The presentation of the evidence will be much faster” at a judicial trial, the criminal lawyer said, and the prosecution and defense may even choose to forego opening and closing statements, as they would in a jury trial, because this is not necessary in a lawsuit. test bench.

Ibarra and his brothers, who also came to the United States illegally from Venezuela, lived in an apartment building on the edge of the park on campus where Riley ran. Ibarra allegedly killed the aspiring nurse in what UGA Police Chief Jeffrey Clark described as a “crime of opportunity.”

Jose Ibarra will appear in court for a hearing on November 1, 2024 in Athens, Georgia. (Robin Rayne for Fox News Digital)

In May, a Georgia grand jury indicted Ibarra on charges of malice murder, two counts of kidnapping with bodily harm, two counts of aggravated assault with intent to rape, two counts of aggravated battery, hindering or hindering a person from calling 911 making phone calls, tampering with evidence and being a ‘voyeur’.

Peeping Tom’s charges stem from another incident on February 22 in which the suspect allegedly went to a residence on the UGA campus in Athens and “peeped through” a window and “spyed” on a university employee, the complaint said.

Laken Riley was a nursing student at Augusta University. (Allyson Philips/Facebook)

Ibarra recently tried the “peeping Tom” charge removed from his case, but prosecutors argued that the two incidents are “inextricably linked,” and Haggard ultimately decided not to drop the charges.

The judge also allowed DNA and cellphone evidence that Ibarra’s defense sought to suppress.

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This is a general view of the area where Laken Riley’s body was found near Lake Herrick on the campus of the University of Georgia in Athens on February 24, 2024. (Mark Sims for Fox News Digital)

The 26-year-old suspect must appear in court again on November 15 for his trial. Jury selection for his trial was scheduled to begin on Wednesday, November 13, before he requested a bench trial.

Ibarra entered the United States illegally El Paso, Texas, in September 2022 and was released on parole to the US, ICE and DHS sources previously told Fox News. His older brother, Diego Ibarra, is accused of green card fraud and had ties to a known Venezuelan gang in the U.S. called Tren de Aragua, according to federal court documents.

LAKEN RILEY MURDER: VIDEO SHOWS MAN HIDEING BLOODY JACKET, GLOVES MINUTES AFTER STUDENT’S DEATH, PROSECUTOR SAY

According to court documents, Diego Ibarra poses on his social media accounts with multiple guns. (Middle District of Georgia)

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Riley’s death was widely mentioned during the 2024 presidential election, as Republicans and Democrats debated the implications of record levels of illegal immigration across the U.S.-Mexico border in the past four years.

Rachel Morin of Maryland, Jocelyn Nungaray of Texas, Lizbeth Medina of Texas, Ruby Garcia of Michigan and Maria Gonzalez of Texas are among women reportedly killed by illegal immigrants in the past two years.