A friend of Todd Stewart, a retiree who was allegedly stabbed to death on his front lawn, has accused California's justice system of failing the victim and his family. Victoria, a close friend of Stewart whose last name was withheld, stated on "Fox & Friends" that the system failed Stewart and the community.
Stewart, 68, was allegedly killed on Aug. 6 by Marcos Iriarte-Valdez, 36. According to records, Iriarte-Valdez, who is identified by DHS as Marcos Valdezusper, entered the U.S. illegally during the George W. Bush administration. He had prior felony burglary charges from April and was released under pretrial supervision and home detention.
Iriarte-Valdez was arrested again on Aug. 4 for allegedly violating his home-detention requirements. However, a judge ordered his release on his own recognizance the following day, referring him back to electronic monitoring. Victoria criticized this decision, stating, "Clearly, they were not thinking." She added, "if a person shows you who they are, not once, not twice, not three times, you need to believe them."
Stewart was fatally stabbed during an apparent burglary attempt at his Contra Costa County home. A Contra Costa County SWAT team arrested Iriarte-Valdez the next day. His bail was initially set at $1.1 million before a judge ordered him held without bail after prosecutors charged him in Stewart's death.
Victoria described the situation as "difficult" because she believes Stewart's death was preventable. She pointed to broader issues that she claims allow repeat offenders to remain on the streets, stating, "there are ways and methods and laws that could have kept these people off the streets... but that's just not the way it works right now."