The judge denies suppressing evidence for a man charged with murdering a UGA nursing student

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – An Athens judge has rejected a request from the man charged in the death of a University of Georgia nursing student to suppress certain evidence in the case.

Jose Ibarra, 26, was charged with the Feb. 22 killing of Augusta University nursing student Laken Riley in a wooded area behind Lake Herrick on the school's campus.

Ibarra's motion claimed two cellphones, social media information, location data and “genetic and physical information” were seized without good reason.

The University of Georgia Police Department, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the FBI and other law enforcement agencies obtained multiple search warrants in connection with the case, searched 10 electronic devices and collected “mouth swabs and photos of marks” from Ibarra, as well as social media information from Snapchat , TikTok and Instagram as well as location data, the denial order states.

According to the documents, the evidence must be “suppressed as the fruit of the poisonous tree.”

Judge H. Patrick Haggard found that the warrants were “valid and properly executed” and that Ibarra had not specified what evidence should be suppressed.

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The motion also alleged that Ibarra was “arrested without reasonable suspicion” when officers entered his Athens apartment without a warrant the day after Riley was found dead.

Ibarra was arrested after he was found during a “security search” of his home. Another person had allowed a police officer to enter the apartment to turn off a stove, and the officer conducted security checks upon entry. The officer found Ibarra during the search.

Judge H. Patrick Haggard found that Ibarra was “lawfully detained and arrested.”

Haggard's ruling found that the security search was appropriate “to ensure that no other persons are present in the home and to prevent the possible destruction of evidence.”

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