A man who murdered a Modoc County Sheriff’s Deputy more than 2 years ago has avoided the death penalty. 31-year-old Jack Hopkins is the only deputy ever killed in the line of duty in Modoc County. He was shot October 19th of 2016 while responding to a family disturbance call south of Alturas. He was alone when he arrived and was shot dead in an ambush by 48-year-old Jack Breiner. When Breiner tried to drive away he was intercepted by Sheriff Mike Poindexter, who wounded him in a gunfight before his capture. Breiner entered a not guilty plea last October and his defense argued that Breiner couldn’t get a fair trial in Modoc County. The change of venue motion was granted and Breiner was tried by a jury in Sacramento County. Earlier this month they found him guilty of willful deliberate premeditated murder of a peace officer. On Monday that same jury determined that Breiner was sane at the time, and on Wednesday they decided he should spend the rest of his life in prison without the possibility of parole. He could have been sent to death row.