Ex-Air Force Sgt. Carrillo sentenced to 41 years in Oakland slaying of federal officer
SAN FRANCISCO -- Former U.S. Air Force Sgt. Steven Carrillo, an alleged follower of the "Boogaloo Boys" movement, was sentenced to 41 years in prison Friday for the fatal 2020 shooting of Federal Protective Officer Dave Patrick Underwood in Oakland.
Carrillo was sentenced to 41 years by a judge in a San Francisco courtroom in connection with the fatal shooting, said the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California.
Carrillo had changed his plea in the fatal shooting case to guilty earlier this year. He fatally shot Underwood in a drive-by under the cover of 2020 protests in Oakland against police brutality, according to court records.
The 34-year-old Carrillo changed his plea last February in the wake of federal prosecutors agreeing to not seek the death penalty in the case.
Carrillo pleaded not guilty in July 2020 to killing Underwood, who was shot on May 29, 2020, while he stood in a guard shack in front of a federal building in Oakland.
Prosecutors say Carrillo had ties to the "boogaloo" movement, a concept embraced by a loose network of gun enthusiasts and militia-style extremists. The group started in alt-right culture on the internet with the belief that there is an impending civil war, according to experts.
Authorities accused Carrillo of fatally shooting Underwood from a white van after developing a plot with Robert Alvin Justus Jr., of Millbrae. The pair is accused of driving to Oakland and taking advantage of the distraction afforded by protesters marching through the city's downtown. Justus drove the van, authorities said.
A week after the shooting in Oakland, Carrillo allegedly ambushed sheriff's deputies in Santa Cruz County who were responding to a report of a van containing firearms and bomb-making materials. Sgt. Damon Gutzwiller, 38, was killed and several other law enforcement officials were wounded, according to authorities and court records.
Prosecutors in Santa Cruz County charged Carrillo with a slew of felonies, including murder and attempted murder in connection to that killing.
Carrillo pleaded not guilty to Gutzwiller's killing.
Underwood's family has also filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Facebook, claiming the social media platform allowed users to connect to extremist groups and promoted divisive, inflammatory, and untrue content, leading to his slaying.
Underwood's sister Angela Jacobs filed the suit in Alameda County Superior Court.
"We believe and intend to show that Facebook's conduct has led to a rise in extremism throughout the world and acts of real-world violence, including the murder of Officer Underwood," attorney Ted Leopold said in a statement. "It is time that Facebook is finally held accountable for its actions."