Amended in Senate August 19, 2014

Amended in Assembly June 17, 2014

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 159

Introduced by Assembly Member Chesbro

(Coauthor: Senator Evans)

June 10, 2014

Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 159—Relative to memorial highways.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

ACR 159, as amended, Chesbro. Deputy Sheriffs Deeds and Del Fiorentino memorial highways.

This measure would designate a specified portion of State Highway Route 116 in the County of Sonoma as the Deputy Sheriff Merrit W. Deeds Memorial Highway. This measure would also designate a specified portion of State Highway Route 1 in the County of Mendocino as the Deputy Sheriff Ricky Del Fiorentino Memorial Highway. The measure would request that the Department of Transportation determine the cost of appropriate signs showing each of those special designations and, upon receiving donations from nonstate sources covering that cost, to erect those signs.

Fiscal committee: yes.

WHEREAS, Merrit W. Deeds was born on February 23, 1943,
in Rohnerville, California, grew up in Sonoma County, and
graduated from Healdsburg High School in 1960; and

WHEREAS, Merrit W. Deeds joined the United States Army
in 1964 and served in Vietnam in the 81st Airborne Infantry
Division; and

WHEREAS, Merrit W. Deeds first served with the Sonoma
County Sheriff’s Office in 1970 as a Summer Deputy and was
assigned to the Guerneville Substation; and

WHEREAS, After graduating from Sacramento State University,
Merrit W. Deeds moved to Alaska to attend the Alaska State
Trooper Academy and, upon graduation from the academy, became
an Alaska State Trooper; and

WHEREAS, Merrit W. Deeds moved back to California in 1975
with his wife and again became a Summer Deputy for the Sonoma
County Sheriff’s Office on May 23, 1975; and

WHEREAS, On August 23, 1975, the Sonoma County Sheriff’s
Office notified Merrit W. Deeds that he was to become a
permanent, full-time Deputy Sheriff with the sheriff’s office; and

WHEREAS, Only hours after this notification, Deputy Sheriff
Deeds was patrolling State Highway Route 116 near Jenner when
he stopped to talk with three men who were parked on the side of
the road; and

WHEREAS, The driver of the vehicle fired two shots at Deputy
Sheriff Deeds, the second of which was fatal; and

WHEREAS, Reserve Deputy Rex Nance, who was off duty,
stopped to assist, and Deputy Sheriff Deeds was able to warn him
that the driver had a gun, possibly saving Reserve Deputy Nance’s
life; and

WHEREAS, At 32 years of age, Deputy Sheriff Deeds sacrificed
his life in meritorious service for the residents of the County of
Sonoma and the State of California; and

WHEREAS, Deputy Sheriff Deeds was survived by his wife
and two small daughters; and

WHEREAS, Ricky Paul Del Fiorentino was born on May 28,
1965, in Napa California. He was one of six children, his brother,
Peter, and his four sisters, Anna Marie, Jaime, Debra Amaral, and
Anne Gibson; and

WHEREAS, Ricky Paul Del Fiorentino attended Napa High
School, Class of 1983, the University of Oklahoma, and the Napa
Valley College Police Academy; and

WHEREAS, Deputy Sheriff Del Fiorentino began his law
enforcement career with the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office,
from 1988 to 1990, inclusive, then worked with the Fort Bragg
Police Department as a Patrol Officer and Detective, from 1990
to 2000, inclusive, and finally returned to the Mendocino County
Sheriff’s Office as a Deputy Sheriff in 2000; and

WHEREAS, Deputy Sheriff Del Fiorentino was a defensive
tactics instructor, had been a member of the Mendocino County
Sheriff’s Office Special Weapons and Tactics team, and had been
the president of the Coast Chapter of the Police Activities League;
and

WHEREAS, Deputy Sheriff Del Fiorentino was a very visible
presence in the Fort Bragg community, and had also coached
wrestling at the local high school; and

WHEREAS, Deputy Sheriff Del Fiorentino was inducted into
the Napa High School Hall of Fame in 1998, and won a Gold
Medal in the 2003 California Police Olympics in both
Greco-Roman and Freestyle wrestling; and

WHEREAS, Deputy Sheriff Del Fiorentino enjoyed spending
time with his family and friends, enjoyed cooking, and loved the
outdoors, being an avid hunter, fisherman, and diver; and

WHEREAS, Deputy Sheriff Del Fiorentino had a “larger than
life” personality and went out of his way to make people feel at
ease and to solve problems. He often put the needs of others ahead
of his own and would reach out to help people that he did not
know; and

WHEREAS, On March 19, 2014, Deputy Sheriff Del Fiorentino
responded to a shooting in Cleone, a small community a few miles
north of Fort Bragg in the County of Mendocino; and

WHEREAS, Deputy Sheriff Del Fiorentino spotted the suspect
vehicle stopped in the roadway in a residential area and was
immediately ambushed by the suspect who fired numerous rifle
rounds into Del Fiorentino’s patrol vehicle, killing him. Seconds
later the suspect fired on a Fort Bragg Police Lieutenant who killed
the suspect in the gun battle; and

WHEREAS, Deputy Sheriff Del Fiorentino made the ultimate
sacrifice in the service of the residents of the County of Mendocino
and the State of California; and

WHEREAS, Deputy Sheriff Del Fiorentino is survived by his
wife, Beth Marie Del Fiorentino, and his five children, and three
grandchildren; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate
thereof concurring, That the Legislature hereby designates the begin insert five
mile end insert portion of State Highway Route begin delete 1, at Jenner, and State
Highway Route 116, east to the intersection of State Highway
Route 116 and Austin Creek Road, end delete begin insert 116 immediately south of the
junction of State Highway Route 1, end insert in the County of Sonoma as
the Deputy Sheriff Merrit W. Deeds Memorial Highway; and be
it further

Resolved, That the Legislature hereby designates the portion of
State Highway Route 1, between milepost marker 62.0 begin delete southbound end delete
and milepost marker 65.0 begin delete northbound end delete begin insert , adjacent to MacKerricher
State Park end insert in the County of Mendocino as the Deputy Sheriff Ricky
Del Fiorentino Memorial Highway; and be it further

Resolved, That the Department of Transportation is requested
to determine the cost of appropriate signs consistent with the
signing requirements for the state highway system showing each
of these special designations and, upon receiving donations from
nonstate sources sufficient to cover the cost of the signs for which
the donations were made, to erect those signs; and be it further

Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies
of this resolution to the Director of Transportation and to the author
for appropriate distribution.