The brother of Jose Ibarra, a 26-year-old Venezuelan illegal immigrant convicted of killing 22-year-old nursing student Laken Riley Feb. 22, 2024, while she was jogging on the University of Georgia campus, was sentenced to prison and deportation after he pleaded guilty to having a fake green card during the murder investigation. 

Diego “Gocho” Ibarra, 29, of Venezuela, was sentenced Wednesday to four years behind bars after pleading guilty to two counts of possession of a fraudulent document July 15, 2024. The sentence was above the federal sentencing guideline range, and he will not be eligible for parole.

Riley’s killer, Jose Ibarra, lived with his brothers — Diego and Argenis “Meny” Ibarra, 25, of Venezuela — and a female roommate, Rosbeli “La Gorda” Flores-Bello, 29, of Venezuela, in an Athens, Georgia apartment complex at the time of the murder. All four were questioned and arrested by investigators.

Diego Ibarra appears in federal court on immigration charges Thursday. Ibarra is the brother of Jose Ibarra, who was convicted in the murder of Laken Riley in Athens, Ga., in November. (Lucy Luckovich)

Argenis Ibarra entered the U.S. illegally April 3, 2023, near Eagle Pass, Texas, and the USBP returned him to Mexico. 

Less than a month later, on April 30, 2023, the USBP arrested him again near El Paso, Texas, and took him to an ICE processing center in El Paso, according to the statement. He was released May 4, 2023, “because the processing center lacked space.”

Law enforcement and agents defend the border in El Paso, Texas. (David Peinado/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Similarly, Flores-Bello was arrested after illegally entering the country May 3, 2023, taken to an ICE processing center in El Paso and released on May 5, 2023, “because the processing center lacked space,” according to the statement.

She provided a home address in New York and was scheduled for an immigration court hearing on Oct. 18, 2023, but took a humanitarian flight to Atlanta, Georgia, in December 2023 with Jose Ibarra, whom she met in New York.

She settled in Athens and lived with the Ibarra brothers until Laken Riley was murdered.

Jose Ibarra was convicted Nov. 20, 2024 of malice murder, three counts of felony murder and assault with intent to rape, among other charges, in Athens-Clarke County Superior Court. 

He is serving a life sentence.

Fox News Digital’s Audrey Conklin contributed to this report.