A suspect accused of fatally stabbing a California man on his front lawn is an illegal immigrant who had been released from custody a day earlier.
The suspect, 36-year-old Marcos Eduardo Iriarte-Valdez, now faces a murder charge in Contra Costa County, a suburban county of the San Francisco Bay Area.
He was attempting another break-in when the victim, 68-year-old retiree Todd Stewart, confronted him and was killed, prosecutors said.
Iriarte-Valdez had been out of custody on electronic monitoring in a separate burglary case when the stabbing occurred.
The Martinez Police Department responded to a call around 5:10 p.m. Aug. 6 and found Stewart deceased steps from his home in Martinez, California
The brutal stabbing was caught on surveillance footage, and Stewart’s wife also witnessed it, according to a family friend, Victoria, who appeared on “Fox & Friends.”
Marcos Iriarte-Valdez, the suspect accused of kiIIing 68-year-old Todd Stewart while he worked in his yard in California, was released from prison just 24 hours earlier.
Not 24 years. Not 24 months. 24 HOURS.
JAIL. THE. JUDGES.
We should not have to live like this!! pic.twitter.com/uPEUrYHja0
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) August 9, 2026
“My friend is going to have that vision of seeing her husband murdered in front of her eyes playing through her head for the rest of her life,” Victoria told co-host Lawrence Jones. “It’s not just another number; it’s not just another statistic. It’s a human being with a loving family and friends who miss him and know that this shouldn’t have happened.”
The Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office filed a felony complaint Aug. 11 charging Iriarte-Valdez with murder with three special enhancements, according to a news release.
“Our office will pursue this case with diligence and integrity to hold Iriarte-Valdez fully accountable under the law for this devastating act of violence,” District Attorney Diana Becton said. “Our thoughts are with the victim’s loved ones and the larger community as they navigate this unimaginable loss.”
The enhancements allege the killing took place during a burglary, involved the use of a knife and was committed while the suspect was out on conditional release in a separate, unrelated burglary case.
He could face life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted by a jury on the killing during a burglary enhancement, prosecutors said.
Marcos Iriarte-Valdez was alternatively identified as Marcos Valdezusper, who entered the U.S. illegally during the George W. Bush administration, Fox News reported, citing U.S. Department of Homeland Security records.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement placed a detainer for Iriarte-Valdez with the Contra Costa County Jail on Aug. 8. A DHS spokesperson told ABC News Iriarte-Valdez is a Venezuelan national with citizenship in Spain and entered the U.S. in December 2007.
In addition to murder, he had an extensive prior criminal record, including burglary, trespassing and inflicting corporal injury on a spouse, and has been convicted of violating a court-ordered protective order, the DHS spokesperson said.
Iriarte-Valdez was facing felony burglary charges for several suspected burglaries in April in Orinda, Calif., but local officials released him under pretrial supervision and home detention.
Police arrested him again Aug. 4 on allegations that he violated his home-detention requirements.
A judge ordered his release on his own recognizance the following day, Aug. 5, and referred him back to electronic monitoring pending trial.
The Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office had objected to electronic home detention for the suspect three times — during the Aug. 5 hearing, as well as during his arraignment and preliminary hearing regarding the pending burglary case, per the ABC News report.
Iriarte-Valdez fled the scene in his vehicle after the attack, prompting local police to seek assistance from the public, prosecutors said. He was arrested Aug. 7 by a Contra Costa County SWAT team, Fox News reported.
The Martinez Police Department used multiple investigative sources to identify and locate Iriarte-Valdez. “This included video surveillance capturing events related to the crime, as well as physical evidence processed by the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office Crime Lab,” the District Attorney’s Office said
Stewart’s friend, Victoria, said California’s justice system has failed his family and friends as well as other victims of violent crime.
“Clearly they were not thinking,” Victoria said of the judge authorizing his release. “Unfortunately, if a person shows you who they are, not once, not twice, not three times, you need to believe them. In this case, he was a repeat offender and was released, so, California state law, the judge and the judicial system really failed Todd and his family and the community.”
Stewart’s murder is the latest in a long list of violent crime committed by illegal immigrants in the state.
Led by Gov. Gavin Newsom, California’s sanctuary politicians have pursued repeated legal battles against the Trump administration to thwart his deportation agenda. In addition, the state’s sanctuary laws harbor illegal immigrants and allow repeat offenders to return to the streets.
Stewart’s family and friends are “upset and angry” over his senseless and shocking death, but the community has rallied around them, Victoria said.
Victoria added that it’s “very, very difficult when you know that this was preventable” and laid the blame on California’s lenient policies. She wants to see laws changed.
“This goes beyond any political party,” Victoria said on “Fox & Friends.” “This is common sense. I’m just not sure when common sense left this conversation.”
A memorial fund for Stewart described him as a “very loving, kind and helpful person” who was devoted to his family and church. The retired engineer loved to golf and fish and is survived by his wife and two children, according to the fund.
“Todd was really a wonderful neighbor, nice guy,” according to one neighbor who spoke to ABC News. “Always helpful.”
Iriarte-Valdez was arraigned Aug. 12 in Contra Costa Superior Court. He pleaded not guilty to the murder charge and denied all enhancements.
Judge David Goldstein called the defendant “a risk to public safety” and ordered him held without bail. His next court appearance is scheduled for Sept. 1 before Judge Michael Nieto in Richmond to set a preliminary hearing date, the District Attorney’s office said.
