OAKLAND, California (AP) – A former U.S. Air Force sergeant and alleged member of the extremist “boogaloo” movement was sentenced Friday to 41 years in prison for the deadly murder of a federal security officer in the area of San Francisco Bay amid a major 2020 Protests against police brutality.
Steven Carrillo, 33, pleaded guilty earlier this year to a federal charge of murder for the murder of David Patrick Underwood and the attempted murder of his colleague from Underwood after the federal prosecutors agreed not to ask for the death penalty.
The men were shot on May 29, 2020, while standing in front of a federal building in Oakland as hundreds of people marched through the streets.
In February, Carrillo admitted to posting on Facebook a day before the shooting, asking someone if he was “ready” and saying he was ready to act, not just talk. He also admitted to firing 19 cartridges from a homemade AR-15 rifle from the back of a white van driven by a man with whom he connected in line.
“I aligned myself with the anti-government movement and wanted to carry out violent acts against federal law enforcement officers,” Carrillo said at the time.
Prosecutors said Jan. 31 that they would not seek the death penalty, but U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers said in a February hearing that she was not convinced that a 41-year sentence agreed upon by prosecutors and lawyers defenders were enough for Carrillo’s crimes.
González Rogers had warned that he could reject the guilty plea if he did not believe that prosecutors and defense attorneys had done enough to justify the sentence.
On Friday, González Rogers sentenced Carrillo to 41 years, a life of supervised release and a restitution amount to be determined at a later date, a court official said. He spoke directly with the Underwood family and explained why he had accepted the deal.
“I think there is evil in this world. all I can tell you is not to see the evil in Mr. Carrillo, “the judge told Mercury News.
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“I know (the declaration agreement) won’t make you happy, but I need you to trust me. I wouldn’t accept it if you didn’t see any redemption measures,” he said. “He will spend virtually the rest of his life in prison in a cell that is normally no more than 10 ‘by 6’, not even bigger than the jury box.”
Prosecutors say Santa Cruz’s Carrillo had ties to the “boogaloo” movement, a concept accepted by a loose network of militia-style gun enthusiasts and extremists. Experts say the group began in the alternative right-wing culture on the Internet with the belief that there is an imminent American civil war.
Authorities accused Carrillo of fatally shooting Underwood after he shot bullets at a guard barracks where he was staying.
Prosecutors said Robert Alvin Justus Jr. of Millbrae was driving the van. He faces federal charges of murder and attempted murder in the case.
The couple is accused of driving to Oakland and taking advantage of the distraction of downtown people protesting the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer.
Carrillo was arrested a week after the shooting in Oakland after he allegedly ambushed sheriff’s officers in Santa Cruz County in response to a complaint from a van containing firearms and bomb-making materials. Sgt. Damon Gutzwiller, 38, was killed and several other law enforcement officials were injured, according to authorities and court records.
Santa Cruz prosecutors charged Carrillo with a large number of crimes, including murder and attempted murder in connection with the murder.
Carrillo pleaded not guilty to Gutzwiller’s murder.