Story perspectives

Man Pleads Not Guilty in Todd Stewart Murder

8/13/2026

Summary

Iriarte-Valdez Pleads Not Guilty

Marcos Eduardo Iriarte-Valdez (Venezuelan immigrant) pleaded not guilty to Todd Stewart’s murder in Martinez.
The stabbing occurred on August 6, 2026 while Stewart worked in his garage on Francis Court.
Judge David Goldstein ordered Iriarte-Valdez held without bail, set $1.1 million bail, and added burglary-killing, knife-use, and murder-while-on-conditional-release enhancements.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement placed a detainer on August 8, 2026, calling Iriarte-Valdez a “criminal illegal alien” from Venezuela.

Summary

Congressman Targets Judge

The California Supreme Court’s April 30 2024 Kowalczyk decision, requiring release or affordable bail unless prosecutors show clear danger, guided judges who freed Iriarte-Valdez.
A Florida congressman introduced impeachment legislation against the judge who freed a convicted Cuban plane hijacker, citing the Iriarte-Valdez case as evidence of sanctuary-city failures.
The Department of Homeland Security warned on social media that sanctuary policies let criminal illegal aliens like Iriarte-Valdez remain in communities.

History

Historical Context

The 1996 Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act, signed by President Bill Clinton, expanded mandatory detention and set a $1,500 bond floor, while authorizing at least 1,000 new border agents each fiscal year through 2001. Its stricter release standards underpin ICE’s 2026 detainer on Venezuelan migrant Marcos Iriarte-Valdez and Justice Kathryn Kowalczyk’s 2024 bail-reform ruling, both citing the act’s precedent.

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Iriarte-Valdez Pleads Not Guilty

Marcos Eduardo Iriarte-Valdez (Venezuelan immigrant) pleaded not guilty to Todd Stewart’s murder in Martinez.
The stabbing occurred on August 6, 2026 while Stewart worked in his garage on Francis Court.
Judge David Goldstein ordered Iriarte-Valdez held without bail, set $1.1 million bail, and added burglary-killing, knife-use, and murder-while-on-conditional-release enhancements.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement placed a detainer on August 8, 2026, calling Iriarte-Valdez a “criminal illegal alien” from Venezuela.

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