In Memory: Solano Co. Sheriff's Deputy Jose Cisneros

The Solano County Sheriff’s Office today is marking the 30th anniversary of the slaying of Deputy Jose Cisneros in unincorporated Vacaville.

In remembrance, a memorial sticker is being placed on each patrol vehicle for the next 30 days.

“Thirty years later the pain and loss is still there. There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t think about it,” said Solano County Sheriff Thomas Ferrara, who was working on Aug. 25, 1985.

Cisneros, 40, was investigating a littering and suspicious person report when he found a white van without license plates that had been carjacked in San Pablo parked on a dirt farm access road near the intersection of Pleasants Valley and Cherry Glen roads, sheriff’s Deputy Christine Castillo said.

Cisneros informed the dispatch center of his location and was immediately confronted by an armed man who shot and killed him when he got out of the patrol car, Castillo said.

Nearby law enforcement officers found Cisneros and the van occupied by two men that was seen driving on Pleasants Valley Road. The suspects in the van shot at officers during a pursuit but were later taken into custody, Castillo said. John Kirk, 18 at the time, pleaded guilty to armed voluntary manslaughter and was sentenced to 17 years in prison, Castillo said.

Michael Remington, 17 at the time, was the suspect who shot Cisneros.

He was convicted of second-degree murder and was sentenced to 31 years to life in prison. Remington killed himself in prison, according to Castillo. Cisneros was a deputy for 14 years, Castillo said.

--Bay City News