From Newsgroup: alt.law-enforcement

Suspect is in country illegally, arrested for burglary, but
fool judge let him out of jail!

from https://nypost.com/2026/08/11/us-news/venezuelan-illegal-migrant-identified-in-fatal-stabbing-of-68-year-old-california-retiree/

Illegal immigrant accused of butchering retiree outside his Bay Area
home rCo just one day after being released from jail
By Daniel Farr
Published Aug. 11, 2026, 9:21 p.m. ET

182 Comments

The stabbing suspect arrested for allegedly butchering an elderly man to
death outside his Bay Area home a day after being released from jail has
been identified as an illegal migrant from Venezuela.

Marcos Iriarte-Valdez, 36rCowhose full legal name was identified by
federal authorities as Marcos Eduardo Iriarte Valdezusper, a criminal
alien who also holds citizenship in SpainrCois accused of fatally stabbing Todd Stewart, 68, on the front lawn of the retireerCOs Martinez home last week, with surveillance footage capturing the horrifying attack.

Marcos Iriarte-Valdez standing next to a silver car with its door open.
4
Marcos Iriarte-Valdez, 36, is accused of fatally stabbing Todd Stewart,
68, on the front lawn of the retireerCOs Martinez home last week.
Martinez Police Department
On Tuesday, the Department of Homeland Security revealed that
Iriarte-Valdez is a rCLVenezuelan illegal alienrCY who committed the alleged crime rCLin sanctuary California.rCY

rCL[Governor Gavin Newsom] must NOT RELEASE this murderer from jail and
turn him over to us so we can REMOVE him from our nation,rCY the
department posted on X.

rCLSanctuary politicians must stop putting politics above public safety,rCY DHS told The California Post. rCLThis type of insanity leads to more
crimes and more innocent victims.rCY

rCLBecause sanctuary cities refuse to work with ICE law enforcement,
criminal illegal aliens are released from jails into American
communities to perpetuate more crimes.rCY

Under President Trump, ICE is targeting the worst of the worst, with
nearly 70% of ICE arrests consisting of illegal aliens charged or
convicted of a crime in the US.

Iriarte-Valdez, who has been in the US since 2007, was already in
trouble with the law and on pretrial release for a residential burglary
case when he was jailed last Tuesday for allegedly violating the terms
of his home detention monitoring.

A smiling man with gray hair, a beard, and glasses wears a patterned
shirt in front of a painting and framed photos.
4
Retiree Todd Stewart, 68, died in the alleged killing.
A day later, a Contra Costa County Superior Court judge released him on
his own recognizance and referred him back to home detention monitoring.

Less than 24 hours later, Stewart was dead.

Iriarte-Valdez had been on pretrial release for residential burglaries
that occurred on April 29 in Orinda.

Martinez Police Chief Andrew White said that the stabber apparently did
not even have his home detention monitoring equipment placed on him
until Friday, the day after Stewart was killed.

Iriarte-Valdez was arrested Friday evening at his home in the 1600 block
of Ashwood Drive on suspicion of murder.

The following day, on Saturday, ICE officially placed an immigration
detainer on Iriarte-Valdez with the Contra Costa County Jail.

He is being held on $1.1 million bail.

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Surveillance video of a silver SUV with open doors on a residential street.
4
Surveillance video captured Marcos Iriarte-Valdez during the fatal stabbing. Police said there was no known connection between Iriarte-Valdez and
Stewart.

Stewart had been working on a project in his garage before the attack, neighbors said.

The eruption of violence left the neighborhood rocked.

rCLIrCOm still processing because I still expect to see him over the fence,rCY neighbor Galina Pasternak told KTVU. rCLItrCOs nowhere as bad as his family, because they lost their father, his wife lost her husband. They finally
were spending more time together because they were retired. They were traveling.rCY

Investigators quickly zeroed in on the suspect using surveillance
footage, automated license-plate recognition technology and tips from residents who recognized the vehicle.

Surveillance video shows police cars and officers in a residential
street with yellow crime scene tape across the foreground.
4
The eruption of violence left the alleged victimrCOs neighbors stunned. rCLThrough using automated license plate recognition technology, we were
able to locate what ultimately became that vehicle and understand kind
of where it had been,rCY White said. rCLSimultaneously, we were receiving
tips from the community from people who recognized the vehicle.rCY

Cops eventually tracked Iriarte-Valdez to his apartment complex and
arrested him without incident.


182
What do you think? Post a comment.

His criminal record includes an October 2025 arrest in Contra Costa
County for a DUI and a hit-and-run causing property damage, according to county booking records.

Apart from these incidents and his current murder charge,
Iriarte-ValdezrCOs extensive wrap sheet includes three counts of burglary, receiving known stolen property, trespassing, entering a non-commercial dwelling, loitering, and inflicting corporal injury on a spouse.

He also has a prior conviction for violating a court-ordered protective
order.

Filed under california crime democrats stabbings 8/11/26
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