The illegal alien gangster convicted in the vicious slaying of beloved nursing student Laken Riley may get a new trial after a shocking ruling from the same judge who found him guilty.
On Thursday, Judge Patrick Haggard ruled that Jose Ibarra must undergo a mental health evaluation. Ibarra’s appeals attorneys had claimed in court documents filed last month that Ibarra has a “congenital deficiency” and a diminished “mental capacity” that could have affected his ability to make decisions during Riley’s murder and the subsequent trial.
‘This court has found it appropriate for an evaluation to be conducted at the public expense.’
Ibarra is “suffering from congenital deficiency which could render the client incapable of preparing a defense and standing trial,” the lawyers wrote, according to the New York Post.
They added that Ibarra “lacks the mental capacity to understand the nature and object and proceedings and [counsel] believes that this was in existence at the time of the offense and at the time of the trial.”
Last fall, Ibarra waived his right to a jury and instead opted for a bench trial. On November 20, Judge Haggard found Ibarra guilty of malice murder, felony murder, kidnapping with bodily injury, aggravated assault with intent to rape, aggravated battery, obstruction of a 911 call, tampering with evidence, and peeping Tom. The judge sentenced him to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Ibarra’s appeals attorneys argued that his alleged mental deficiencies may have impacted the decision to opt for a bench trial instead of a jury trial, noting that his trial attorneys did not have his mental health evaluated. They even claimed a “language barrier” may have exacerbated these alleged concerns.
Prosecutor Sheila Ross responded to the motion about a mental health evaluation by noting that nothing presented at trial indicated that Ibarra suffered from mental incompetence.
“There were no challenges or concerns about Defendant’s competency to stand trial during the pretrial and trial proceedings. Moreover, there is nothing in the trial record that would suggest that Defendant was not competent during his trial,” Ross wrote in a June 25 motion obtained by Blaze News.
She also dismissed the “language barrier” allegation, pointing to the “court-certified interpreter who is fluent in both Spanish and English” who assisted Ibarra at pretrial and trial proceedings. However, Ross ultimately did not oppose an evaluation, leaving the decision up to Judge Haggard.
“The mental competence of [Ibarra] has been called into question, and this court has found it appropriate for an evaluation to be conducted at the public expense,” Haggard wrote in his latest ruling.
Haggard demanded that Ibarra be given a “prompt evaluation” by the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities either at a Georgia Department of Corrections facility or at a hospital, Fox News reported.
Whether any evaluation has yet been scheduled is unclear. Should authorities determine that Ibarra was mentally unfit, he may be granted a “trial redo,” the Post indicated.
The Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia declined a request for comment from Blaze News, citing ongoing litigation.
On February 22, 2024, Ibarra attacked Riley, 22, in broad daylight while she was jogging near the campus of the University of Georgia. He ambushed her and attempted to rape her. After she fought back, he brutally bashed her skull with a rock, according to prosecutors. His DNA was discovered under Riley’s fingernails.
Ibarra, 27, and two of his brothers stole into the United States from Venezuela during the border crisis of the Biden administration. Days before his conviction in November, sources within Biden’s Department of Homeland Security confirmed that Ibarra is a member of the violent Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.
At least one of Ibarra’s brothers is a suspected TDA associate as well. Both brothers have had run-ins with the law since breaking into the U.S., pled guilty to possessing a fraudulent document, and are slated for deportation as part of Operation Take Back America under President Donald Trump.
Jose Ibarra was also arrested for other alleged crimes in New York City prior to moving to Georgia.
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