A 68-year-old Martinez, California, retiree was fatally stabbed outside his own home, allegedly by an illegal immigrant a judge had released on his own recognizance just one day earlier, prompting DHS to demand Governor Gavin Newsom hand the suspect over.
Todd Stewart had lived on his quiet street in Martinez, a small city just east of San Francisco, for roughly 40 years. Prosecutors say Marcos Iriarte-Valdez, a 36-year-old Venezuelan national, killed him during an attempted burglary, one day after a Contra Costa County judge turned Iriarte-Valdez loose despite his criminal record and a pending home-detention violation. Fox News reported that DHS has now placed an immigration detainer on the suspect and is publicly pressuring California’s governor to surrender him to federal custody for removal.
The timeline is damning. Iriarte-Valdez was arrested on a Tuesday for allegedly violating a condition of his home detention, itself tied to earlier burglary charges. On Wednesday, an unnamed judge ordered him released on his own recognizance. By Thursday, Stewart was dead.
Investigators say Stewart encountered Iriarte-Valdez in the garage of his Martinez home. Iriarte-Valdez allegedly tried to flee, then stabbed the 68-year-old retiree and killed him. Martinez police arrested Iriarte-Valdez on Friday evening after tracking him through automated license-plate-recognition technology and community tips.