Biography
Joseph Michael Remiro, a Vietnam War veteran and Symbionese Liberation Army member, was arrested and booked in Concord, California on January 10, 1974. He was convicted in the Marcus Foster murder prosecution. Reporter Roger Rapoport reported in March 2024 that Remiro had been paroled in 2018; the exact physical-release date remains unverified.
The Los Angeles jury reported inability to agree on February 20, 1976 in the Concord assault/attempted-murder prosecution, and Judge Ross Bigelow declared a mistrial. This concerns the January 10, 1974 arrest, separate from the Foster murder conviction; a March25 hearing was prospective. His explanation that he fired in self-defense is attributed testimony, not an acquittal. The account describes revocation of his self-representation after his testimony and objections by standby counsel William Gagen. Pages11-13. Source: https://freedomarchives.org/Documents/Finder/DOC514_scans/SLA%20Dragon/514.SLA.Dragon7.Febmarch1976.Periodical.pdf
The annotated May 1975 news script describes the Sacramento Foster-murder trial while the jury was still deliberating. It names prosecutor Lowell Jensen and distinguishes the prosecution’s theory of a plan from an actual conspiracy count, which it says was not charged. This pre-verdict report does not override the later judicial outcomes in the existing record. Source: News scripts, annotated May 31, 1975, PDF page 1. https://www.freedomarchives.org/Documents/Finder/DOC516_scans/516.NI.071.5.13.1975.pdf#page=1
Arrest and release precision reviewed October 12, 2026: People v. Remiro (1979), 89 Cal.App.3d 809, describes his apprehension and booking on January 10, 1974. Roger Rapoport's March 2024 Local News Matters report establishes parole in 2018 but supplies no exact release day. Both legacy records now reflect year precision only; January 1 is storage for the year, not an asserted release day. The unsupported June 14 endpoint and calculated duration are superseded. The two legacy case entries overlap and require separate review of their distinct charges and prison-admission dates; no additional release or continuous custody period is inferred.
Contemporary trial-custody evidence
Black Flag, volume IV number 4, September/October 1975, printed pages 8-10 (PDF pages 5-6), reports the January 10, 1974 arrest of Joseph Remiro and Russell Little and the June 26, 1975 life sentences. Its trial account says both men were brought into court daily in shackles during the April-June 1975 proceedings. This supports actual detention before sentencing, but does not establish an exact continuous jail-admission date or resolve the two overlapping legacy case entries. The current incarceration dates and separately sourced 2018 release-year precision are therefore unchanged. The article is partisan contemporary reporting that quotes earlier press coverage; its political interpretations are not additional judicial findings.
California Prisons: On Trial reports a June 27 conviction for attempted escape and assault on two guards, carrying five years to life in addition to the Marcus Foster life sentence. It describes defendants’ claims of threats in custody, a month on San Quentin death row after January 1974 arrests, and self-representation. Alleged gas-chamber intimidation is attributed testimony. The printed chronology is inconsistent about the Hearst kidnapping and is not used for a new precise custody date or overlapping custody total.
