Murder suspect Laken Riley loses his attempt to suppress evidence

ATHENS, Ga. — An Athens judge has denied a request by the man charged in the death of an Augusta University nursing student to suppress certain evidence in the case.

Jose Ibarra, 26, was accused of killing Laken Riley on Feb. 22 in a wooded area behind Lake Herrick on the University of Georgia campus.

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

PREVIOUS COVERAGE:

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.

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.

Haggard noted 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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