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A California judge in the Bay Area released an illegal immigrant 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.
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“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 to Fox News Digital.
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s chief deputy director of communications, Diana Crofts-Pelayo, told Fox News Digital: “This individual should face justice for his alleged crime. California takes public safety seriously, and nothing in California law prevents federal authorities from enforcing federal immigration law. The federal government has billions of dollars and substantial resources to enforce federal law—they do their job instead of blaming California for ICE’s enforcement failures.”
Iriarte-Valdez is accused of murdering 68-year-old Todd Stewart of Martinez, who had lived on his quiet street for about 40 years, during an attempted burglary, prosecutors said.
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.
Fox News Digital reached out to the Martinez Police Department, Contra Costa Superior Court and District Attorney Diana Becton’s office for comment.
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DHS said Iriarte-Valdez was legally admitted to the U.S. during the George W. Bush administration but has since been classified as an “illegal alien.”
“The safest way to arrest and remove criminal illegal aliens from our streets is by lodging arrest detainers. Because sanctuary cities refuse to work with ICE law enforcement, criminal illegal aliens are released from jails into American communities to perpetuate more crimes. Seven of the top 10 safest cities in the United States cooperate with ICE,” a DHS spokesperson said, adding that Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin continues to target the “worst of the worst.”
A homeowner targeted by Iriarte-Valdez in his April alleged burglary spree expressed shock that the man had been released.
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The homeowner told FOX’s San Francisco affiliate his 83-year-old wife saw Iriarte-Valdez’s reflection and screamed, “and I think he took off.”
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“The judge uses his discretion or her discretion. I don’t know who the judge was, so, you know, who am I to argue?” the man said of the unnamed judge who released Iriarte-Valdez last week.
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Iriarte-Valdez is being held without bail. Valdez pleaded not guilty Wednesday. He is due back in court on Tuesday, September 1.
The judge could not be reached for comment.
Fox News Digital’s Stepheny Price contributed to this report.
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