The Department of Homeland Security is demanding California Governor Gavin Newsom keep an alleged killer in custody and turn him over for deportation.
Marcos Iriarte-Valdez, 36, was granted pretrial release by Contra Costa Superior Court Judge Nichelle Holmes last Tuesday for a residential burglary case.
He had been jailed for allegedly violating home detention monitoring terms.
Holmes, appointed by Newsom in 2024, released him roughly 24 hours before he allegedly fatally stabbed Todd Stewart, 68, at Stewart’s Martinez home.
Iriarte-Valdez has been in the U.S. Since 2007 and also holds Spanish citizenship.
Surveillance footage shows him pulling up to Stewart’s house in a Cadillac SUV wearing dark jeans, a gray shirt and a protective vest.
He sat in the vehicle before getting out and allegedly attacking Stewart.
The men fought on a sidewalk between two parked cars before Stewart fell.
Iriarte-Valdez allegedly kept stabbing him as Stewart screamed.
Stewart, a husband and father of two, was pronounced dead at the scene despite medics’ efforts.
Police have not disclosed a motive or whether the men knew each other.
Officers arrested Iriarte-Valdez at his Martinez home Friday night.
He is held on $1.1 million bail as detectives investigate.
Martinez Police Chief Andrew White addressed the arrest.
“I think people can sleep a little bit safer tonight knowing that this person is in custody,” he said. “Unfortunately, too, there’s a family that no longer has a husband, a father.”
Neighbors told KTVU that Stewart had lived there over 30 years and recently finished home renovations.
A friend spoke about Stewart’s character.
“He was the most mild-mannered person and the most helpful in the court,” the friend said. “It’s still unbelievable. I look across the street, and I expect him to come out and wave.”
Holmes described herself as a protester in a 2017 University of San Francisco School of Law profile.
“Nichelle Holmes takes a hands-on approach to fighting injustices and racial disparities in the justice system. She goes to work,” the article states.
“Coming to work every day and ensuring that justice is served is my way of protesting,” Holmes said in the profile.
“Justice does not always mean a prison sentence,” she added. “Sometimes it means a treatment program, or intensive counseling, and sometimes it means a dismissal.”
The DHS revealed Tuesday that Iriarte-Valdez is a “Venezuelan illegal alien” who committed the alleged crime “in sanctuary California.”
The department posted on X: “[Governor Gavin Newsom] must NOT RELEASE this murderer from jail and turn him over to us so we can REMOVE him from our nation.”
DHS also told The California Post: “Sanctuary politicians must stop putting politics above public safety. This type of insanity leads to more crimes and more innocent victims.”
In the viral moment that sparked national outrage, a Newsom-appointed judge freed a criminal illegal migrant who allegedly butchered a retiree in his front yard within a day.
The killing of Todd Stewart, a 68-year-old family man, has become a flashpoint in the debate over sanctuary policies and pretrial release decisions.
Prosecutors had sought to keep Iriarte-Valdez behind bars for the burglary case.
Holmes opted for release instead.
Iriarte-Valdez remains in custody as the investigation continues.