Newsom-appointed judge let criminal illegal migrant walk free day before he allegedly butchered elderly man
An activist judge appointed by California Gov.Gavin Newsom freed a criminal illegal migrant — just a day before he allegedly butchered a retiree to death in his front yard.Contra Costa Superior Court judge Nichelle Holmes released Marcos Iriarte-Valdez, 36 — a criminal alien who also holds citizenship in Spain — just before Iriarte-Valdez allegedly fatally stabbed Todd Stewart, 68, at Stewart’s Martinez home last week.Iriarte-Valdez, who has been in the US since 2007, was already in trouble with the law and was granted pretrial release by Holmes for a residential burglary case when he was jailed last Tuesday for allegedly violating the terms of his home detention monitoring.Holmes was appointed to her post by Newsom in 2024.
She shockingly let Iriarte-Valdez walk just about 24 hours before he allegedly committed the horrific killing of Stewart.Holmes described herself as a protester in a profile published by her law school alma mater in 2017. “Nichelle Holmes takes a hands-on approach to fighting injustices and racial disparities in the justice system.
She goes to work,” states the article posted on the University of San Francisco School of Law website.“Coming to work every day and ensuring that justice is served is my way of protesting,” said Holmes, a former a deputy district attorney for Contra Costa County.“Justice does not always mean a prison sentence,” she added.“Sometimes it means a treatment program, or intensive counseling, and sometimes it means a dismissal.”Surveillance footage that captured the horrifying attack shows Iriarte-Valdez pulling up to Stewart’s house in a Cadillac SUV wearing dark jeans, a gray shirt and a protective vest.Iriarte-Valdez sits in the vehicle for a while before getting out — and allegedly launching a vicious knife attack on Stewart.The men can be seen fighting on a sidewalk between two parked cars before Stewart is knocked to the ground.Iriarte-Valdez allegedly continues stabbing him even after h...