MARTINEZ, Calif. — Horrifying surveillance footage has captured the final moments of a 68-year-old man who was brutally stabbed to death in front of his own home, just one day after a career criminal with a lengthy record was released back onto the streets by a California judge.
The video, circulating widely after being shared online, shows Todd Stewart screaming for help as he is attacked outside his residence on Francis Court in Martinez on the evening of August 6. Stewart, a husband and father, had been working in his garage when the confrontation unfolded. He was stabbed multiple times and died at the scene.
Police identified the suspect as 36-year-old Marcos Iriarte-Valdez of Martinez. Authorities said there was no known connection between the two men. Iriarte-Valdez was arrested the following day and charged with murder. His bail was set at $1.1 million.
Court records paint a damning picture of how the suspect was free to commit the crime. Iriarte-Valdez was already on pretrial release for residential burglaries involving people present that occurred in Orinda in April. He had been fitted with an ankle monitor as a condition of that release.
On August 4, he was taken back into custody for allegedly violating the terms of his home detention monitoring. The ankle monitor was removed while he was in custody. The very next day, August 5, a judge ordered him released once more on his own recognizance and referred him back to monitoring. A new ankle monitor was not placed on him until Friday morning, after the killing had already occurred.
Iriarte-Valdez’s criminal history includes arrests tied to burglary, violating a restraining order, and other offenses. Critics say the sequence of events is a textbook example of California’s soft-on-crime policies in action under Governor Gavin Newsom.
“There is no justice for victims in Gavin Newsom’s lawless California,” wrote one commentator sharing the video, capturing the outrage many feel as details emerge.
Martinez Police Chief Andrew White described the attack as “horrific” and “deeply unsettling,” noting that Stewart appeared to have been simply working near his home when the violence erupted. Investigators used neighborhood surveillance video and other resources to track the suspect’s vehicle and make the arrest.
The case has reignited fierce debate over pretrial release practices, electronic monitoring failures, and judicial decisions that put the public at risk. Judge Nichelle Holmes, appointed by Governor Newsom in 2024, ordered the August 5 release, according to reports citing court records.
Stewart’s death leaves behind a grieving family and a community asking how a man with Iriarte-Valdez’s record was repeatedly returned to the streets. As the video continues to circulate, the question hanging over California’s justice system grows louder: How many more victims will it take?
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