Public office
Nichelle N. Holmes
The Mercury News reported that Judge Nichelle Holmes released Marcos Iriarte-Valdez on August 5, 2026. He was facing felony charges for two April burglaries of Orinda homes. Judge Jesse Hsieh had released him in May and placed him on home detention. He was accused of violating that order and brought before Holmes, who released him. The next day, prosecutors say, he stabbed 68-year-old Todd Stewart to death with a knife while committing a residential burglary on Francis Court in Martinez. Martinez police said the Orinda charges were residential burglaries with persons present on April 29, 2026. Police said he was taken into custody on August 4 for an alleged home-detention violation, and that on August 5 he was ordered released on his own recognizance and referred back to home-detention monitoring. KTVU reported that Police Chief Andrew White said the monitor was not placed on him until August 7, the day after the killing. ABC News reported that the district attorney's office said it objected to electronic home detention at the August 5 hearing, and also at the arraignment and preliminary hearing in the burglary case. The district attorney charged Iriarte-Valdez in case number 01-26-04140 with the murder of Todd Stewart. The complaint alleges the killing was on August 6, 2026, at about 5:10 p.m., and that it happened during a burglary, that he personally used a knife, and that he was on conditional release. He pleaded not guilty on August 12, 2026. Judge David Goldstein called him a risk to public safety and ordered him held without bail. Police had booked him on August 7 with bail set at $1.1 million. The Mercury News reported that authorities allege video and his DNA place him at the scene. ABC News reported that a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson called him a criminal alien, said he is a Venezuelan national with citizenship in Spain who was legally admitted to the United States in December 2007, and said ICE lodged a detainer on August 8, 2026.
Once an engineer with a bright future, Martinez murder suspect's life collapsed over 18 months
- KTVU, August 10, 2026
- ABC News, August 13, 2026
- Contra Costa District Attorney, August 12, 2026
- Martinez Police Department, August 7, 2026
Videos
Defendant
Marcos Eduardo Iriarte-Valdez
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Protective-order case, April 2025
Before the burglary case. The Mercury News reported that he was charged with a misdemeanor for violating a restraining order, and that Judge Jesse Hsieh allowed him to resolve it through a diversion program that was supposed to end in February 2027. ABC News reported that a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said he has been convicted of violating a court-ordered protective order.
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Orinda residential burglaries
This is the case he was released on. Martinez police said the charges were residential burglaries with persons present in Orinda on April 29, 2026. The Mercury News reported that the charges covered two Orinda homes, that Judge Jesse Hsieh released him in May on home detention, and that Judge Nichelle Holmes released him on his own recognizance on August 5 after he was accused of violating that order. ABC News reported that the district attorney's office said it objected to electronic home detention at that August 5 hearing.
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01-26-04140
Charged after the release. The People v. Marcos Eduardo Iriarte-Valdez. The district attorney alleges that on August 6, 2026, at about 5:10 p.m., he stabbed Todd Stewart, 68, to death with a knife while committing a residential burglary. The complaint adds allegations that the killing happened during a burglary, that he personally used a knife, and that the offense happened while he was on conditional release. He pleaded not guilty on August 12, 2026. Judge David Goldstein ordered him held without bail and called him a risk to public safety.
Currently holds
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Judicial
Superior Court Judge
Office contact
A.F. Bray Courthouse, Department 24, Courtroom 2025
- Address
- 1020 Ward Street, Martinez, CA 94553
- Phone
- 925-608-1124
- Hours
- Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Phones are answered until 3:00 p.m.
The judicial directory effective September 14, 2026, lists Nichelle N. Holmes in Department 24, Courtroom 2025, at the A.F. Bray Courthouse. The department phone is 925-608-1124. The court does not publish a personal or chambers email for her. The main court line is (925) 608-1000. At the Bray Courthouse, business hours are 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding court holidays, and phones are answered from 8:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. Questions about a case go through the department. The Public Information Office, (925) 608-2607, mediainfo@contracosta.courts.ca.gov, handles media and judicial administrative records. It does not give case advice or records from a case file.
Oversight
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Presiding judge
Christopher R. Bowen
Presiding judge of the Contra Costa County Superior Court. The September 14, 2026 directory lists him in Department 1, Courtroom 209, at the Wakefield Taylor Courthouse, 725 Court Street, Martinez, CA 94553, 925-608-1101. A complaint about a judge must be in writing, signed, and mailed to the Presiding Judge, P.O. Box 431, Martinez, CA 94553. The court says those complaints may not be submitted by email.
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Judicial misconduct complaints
Commission on Judicial Performance
The independent state agency that investigates complaints of judicial misconduct and incapacity and disciplines California judges. A complaint to the presiding judge is a separate local process.