A Venezuelan national charged with the murder of a California retiree had been released on his own recognizance by a judge appointed by Gov. Gavin Newsom just one day prior to the alleged stabbing.
Marcos Iriarte-Valdez, 36, is accused of fatally stabbing 68-year-old Todd Stewart in what authorities described as an apparent burglary attempt in Martinez, California, on August 6. Stewart died from his injuries. Iriarte-Valdez was arrested Friday at his home in Contra Costa County.
Stewart's death occurred one day after Contra Costa Superior Court Judge Nichelle Holmes, a Newsom appointee, released Iriarte-Valdez on his own recognizance with home-detention monitoring. This release came after Iriarte-Valdez had been arrested on August 4 for violating his existing home-detention monitoring rules. Prior to that, he had been arrested in April on charges of residential burglary with persons present stemming from incidents in Orinda.
Surveillance video reportedly shows Iriarte-Valdez, wearing a tactical vest, emerging from a vehicle and then stabbing Stewart. This video, along with other evidence, helped police obtain a warrant for his arrest on charges of murder and committing a felony while on own-recognizance release. The Contra Costa County District Attorney's office has filed a felony complaint against Iriarte-Valdez, including a special-circumstance allegation of murder during a burglary, which could lead to a sentence of life imprisonment without parole if convicted. He pleaded not guilty to the charges on Wednesday.
Iriarte-Valdez legally entered the U.S. in 2007, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has since designated him as an "illegal alien," though details on how his immigration status changed between 2007 and the present were not immediately clear. Common reasons for such a status change include overstaying a visa, violating visa terms, or the revocation of lawful permanent resident status due to a criminal conviction.
ICE placed a federal detainer on Iriarte-Valdez on Saturday. He has also faced previous charges including inflicting corporal injury on a spouse, receiving stolen property, trespassing, loitering, and entering a noncommercial dwelling. He also has Spanish citizenship.
Former acting ICE Director Tom Homan criticized the circumstances surrounding the release, attributing Stewart's death to what he called "politics of a sanctuary jurisdiction" and prioritizing politics over public safety. He stated that California officials could have alerted law enforcement about Iriarte-Valdez's impending release.
Judge Holmes is scheduled to preside over Iriarte-Valdez's original burglary charges on September 9. Another Newsom appointee, Judge Michael Nieto, is set to oversee a preliminary hearing in the murder case on September 1. Judge David Goldstein, appointed by former Gov. Jerry Brown, has already called Iriarte-Valdez a "risk to public safety" and ordered him held without bail in the murder case.