Gov. Brian Kemp questions Athens DA on her ability to prosecute accused killer of Laken Riley

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp issued a stark warning Monday to Athens area District Attorney Deborah Gonzalez in the case of 26-year-old Jose Antonio Ibarra, an illegal immigrant charged with murder and other offenses in the death last week of 22-year-old Laken Riley.

Riley, who had been a student on the Athens campus of the Augusta University College of Nursing, and had been enrolled at the University of Georgia last year, was found unresponsive early Thursday afternoon on a jogging trail near Lake Herrick on the University of Georgia intramural fields off College Station Road. UGA police Chief Jeff Clark subsequently said her death was the result of blunt force trauma, though an autopsy had not confirmed his assessment as of Monday.

Ibarra was arrested Friday and remained in the Athens-Clarke County Jail on Monday. He was denied bond during a weekend hearing in Athens-Clarke County Magistrate Court, but retains the option of seeking bond in the county’s Superior Court.

Asked Monday following a breakfast speech to the Athens Area Chamber of Commerce whether he had confidence in Gonzalez’ ability “to bring this case, this suspect, to justice,” Kemp had a terse five-word response.

“Well, she best do that,” Kemp, an Athens native, told a group of reporters at the Georgia Center for Continuing Education.

State Rep. Houston Gaines, R-Athens, whose district borders the area where Riley’s body was found, added that there is an effort underway seeking alternatives to having Gonzalez handle the case.

“I have a real concern about her ability to handle this case,” Gaines told reporters Monday. “She’s not ready to handle this case.”

Since her election in 2020, Gonzalez, a Democrat and the first Hispanic woman to be elected as a district attorney in Georgia, has faced criticism regarding a poor prosecutorial record, combined with concerns over understaffing and apparent legal procedural errors.

Gonzalez ran successfully in 2020 on a platform that included a call for an end to cash bail and abandonment of the death penalty. She is facing a challenge in this year’s election cycle from Athens attorney Kalki Yalamanchili. Running as an independent, Yalamanchili has criticized the progressive Gonzalez for using the office “primarily as a political position.”

Gonzalez did not immediately return a Monday phone call seeking comment on the governor’s ultimatum and Gaines’ lack of faith in her ability to successfully prosecute Ibarra.

Kemp, in formal remarks to a capacity crowd at the Athens Area Chamber of Commerce breakfast, which had been scheduled before last week’s slaying on the UGA campus, said he and his wife, Marty, have spoken with Riley’s parents. Riley’s funeral is scheduled for Friday in her north Georgia hometown of Woodstock.

“They’re thankful for our prayers,” the governor told the Monday audience. Kemp then launched into criticism of federal immigration policies, a frequent target for him even in the months prior to Riley’s death.

“This community, all of Georgia, and the entire country have been robbed by this inexcusable and avoidable murder,” Kemp said. “Laken’s life should not have ended so soon. We need to demand justice for what happened to her. She deserves justice, her family deserves justice, and we need justice on a national level to prevent this type of thing from happening again.”

In the news conference after his Chamber speech, Kemp elaborated on the Riley family’s reaction to the loss of Laken Riley. “They are devastated,” he said. “They are heartbroken, but they’re also mad like I am that this would happen.”

Underscoring his commitment to reform of federal immigration policy, particularly in the wake of Riley’s death, Kemp sent a two-page, single-spaced, scorched-earth letter over the weekend to President Joe Biden. The letter was copied to the state’s legislative delegation in Washington.

In the letter, posted as part of his gubernatorial account on the social media platform X, the governor excoriated Biden and his administration for actions producing what Kemp called “… the disastrous impacts of an unsecured U.S. border.”

Also in the letter, Kemp reminded Biden that he and 23 other US governors wrote the president six months ago seeking exhaustive information on “all Illegal border crossings, relocation efforts, and how asylum claims were being processed.”

Kemp used the Saturday letter to renew his request, telling Biden that his “continued silence in response to these reasonable requests is outrageous.”

The letter also asks the Biden administration for specific information on Jose Ibarra’s current immigration status, along with whatever other information the federal government may have on Jose Ibarra and his brother, Diego. Diego Ibarra was booked into the Athens-Clarke County Jail on Friday on a charge of possession, display or use of false, fraudulent or altered identification.  Like his brother, Diego Ibarra remained  in jail on Monday, but under a $500 bond.

In comments Monday to the Chamber of Commerce breakfast, Kemp said the Biden administration’s failure to address criminals, drugs and weapons crossing the southern border of the United States means “every state, as I’ve said repeatedly, is now a border state, and Laken Riley’s murder is just the latest proof of that.”

Citing information from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which has confirmed Jose Ibarra’s illegal presence in the United States, Kemp noted Ibarra had been arrested in 2022 for illegally entering the country. According to media reports, he was released because there was no room for him at a detention center.

Last year, media reports indicate, Ibarra was arrested on a charge of reckless endangerment of a child after he was found driving an uninsured and unregistered vehicle with a 5-year-old child inside.

During his Monday speech in Athens, Gov. Kemp touted the fact that during his administration, the Georgia National Guard has had a significant and sustained presence along the southern US border.

Winding down his Monday talk, Kemp reeled off a list of successful economic development projects and investments in public education around the state that normally would have been the focus of a Chamber presentation.

“We are certainly doing our part,” the governor said, “but none of these measures matter if we cannot keep our people safe.”

In the news conference following his remarks to the Chamber, the governor hinted at some possibility of state legislative action in connection with illegal immigration in the wake of Laken Riley’s death. But, he added, “I don’t want to comment on any specifics.”

This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Athens DA Gonzalez questioned on ability to prosecute Laken Riley death