Illegal alien charged with brutal slaying one day after California judge released him
A California judge in the Bay Area released an illegal alien who had been in custody on burglary charges one day before prosecutors say he murdered a 68-year-old retiree in his Martinez neighborhood.
Marcos Iriarte-Valdez had a prior criminal record and was facing burglary charges stemming from at least two incidents elsewhere in Contra Costa County, just east of San Francisco, when a judge in the Democratic-majority county ordered him released.
The Department of Homeland Security told Fox News Digital it placed an immigration detainer on Iriarte-Valdez Sept. 23, 2025. The DHS said that Valdez was from Venezuela with citizenship in Spain.
"Valdez is charged with murder, inflicting corporal injury on spouse, three counts of burglary, receiving known stolen property, trespassing, entering non-commercial dwelling, loitering, as well as convicted of violation of court ordered protective order," the department said in a statement.
Prosecutors also added three enhancements against Valdez: a special circumstance that the murder occurred during or immediately after a burglary, personal use of a deadly weapon — a knife — and committing the offense while released on bail or his own recognizance.
"CA Governor [Gavin Newsom] must not release this murderer from jail and turn him over to us so we can REMOVE him from our nation," the department later tweeted about Iriarte-Valdez, who is from Venezuela but reported to have Spanish citizenship.
"Sanctuary politicians must stop putting politics above public safety. This type of insanity leads to more crimes and more innocent victims," DHS said in a statement.
Contra Costa prosecutors previously charged Iriarte-Valdez in connection with burglaries at occupied residences in April. He was on pretrial release in that case when he was arrested Tuesday for allegedly violating a home detention condition, then ordered released on his own recognizance on Wednesday, one day before Stewart was killed.
Prosecutors said Iriarte-Valdez tried to run from Stewart’s residence after Stewart encountered him in a garage, then stabbed and killed him.
Marcos Iriarte-Valdez had a prior criminal record and was facing burglary charges stemming from at least two incidents elsewhere in Contra Costa County, just east of San Francisco, when a judge in the Democratic-majority county ordered him released.
The Department of Homeland Security told Fox News Digital it placed an immigration detainer on Iriarte-Valdez Sept. 23, 2025. The DHS said that Valdez was from Venezuela with citizenship in Spain.
"Valdez is charged with murder, inflicting corporal injury on spouse, three counts of burglary, receiving known stolen property, trespassing, entering non-commercial dwelling, loitering, as well as convicted of violation of court ordered protective order," the department said in a statement.
Prosecutors also added three enhancements against Valdez: a special circumstance that the murder occurred during or immediately after a burglary, personal use of a deadly weapon — a knife — and committing the offense while released on bail or his own recognizance.
"CA Governor [Gavin Newsom] must not release this murderer from jail and turn him over to us so we can REMOVE him from our nation," the department later tweeted about Iriarte-Valdez, who is from Venezuela but reported to have Spanish citizenship.
"Sanctuary politicians must stop putting politics above public safety. This type of insanity leads to more crimes and more innocent victims," DHS said in a statement.
Contra Costa prosecutors previously charged Iriarte-Valdez in connection with burglaries at occupied residences in April. He was on pretrial release in that case when he was arrested Tuesday for allegedly violating a home detention condition, then ordered released on his own recognizance on Wednesday, one day before Stewart was killed.
Prosecutors said Iriarte-Valdez tried to run from Stewart’s residence after Stewart encountered him in a garage, then stabbed and killed him.
70-79, M
