Alleged Killer Of Santa Cruz Deputy Accused Of Oakland Cop Murder

ALAMEDA COUNTY, CA — An Air Force Sergeant already accused of killing a Santa Cruz County sheriff's deputy earlier this month was charged on Tuesday with assassinating a federal security officer in a drive-by shooting outside an Oakland courthouse last month, as part of what authorities allege was a plot associated with a right-wing extremist movement that aims to start a civil war.

Staff Sgt. Steven Carrillo, 32, was charged with murder and attempted murder in the killing of federal officer Dave Patrick Underwood, 53, in a crime that initially stumped investigators. Another officer was critically injured.

Also on Monday, authorities charged a Millbrae man, Robert Alvin Justus, Jr., with attempted murder for allegedly driving the car as Carrillo shot the officer. In a criminal complaint by the FBI, authorities allege that the two men timed the murder to coincide with a Black Lives Matter protest happening at the courthouse that night, although they were not affiliated with the protest themselves.

Last week, investigators used cell phone data to track Carrillo's movements on May 29, the day of the Oakland murder, from Travis AFB south along Interstate 80 through Berkeley and into San Leandro.

That evening, the data stopped, as the phone was either turned off or put on airplane mode, according to authorities. The transmissions resumed at 10:08 p.m., 24 minutes after the killing, showing Carrillo on I-580 near the Oakland Zoo, the complaint alleges.

'Boogaloo' extremist movement alleged

Carrillo separately faces state charges in the June 6 shooting death of Santa Cruz County sheriff’s Sgt. Damon Gutzwiller and the wounding of four other officers in Ben Lomond. Authorities say Carrillo ambushed the officers, killing Gutzwiller, who walked into a hail of gunfire and explosives.

Carrillo is a leader of the 60th Security Forces Squadron, an elite military security force assigned to Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield, authorities said.

At the scene of the Ben Lomond shooting, authorities found a ballistic vest that had a patch showing symbols associated with the "Boogaloo" movement, described as a libertarian, anti-government militia with a goal of "inciting a violent uprising against perceived government tyranny," according to the complaint.

On the hood of a Toyota Camry that Carrillo is accused of carjacking during the Ben Lomond standoff, he used his own blood to write various phrases on the car's hood, including "BOOG" and "stop the duopoly," according to the complaint.

Carrillo is being held without bail in a Monterey County jail. He is expected to enter a plea to the state charges on Wednesday.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.

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