What Happened to 2020 Boogaloo Murders (Oakland and Santa Cruz)?

The events commonly referred to as the 'Santa Cruz Shooting' are part of a broader series of attacks in late May and early June 2020, perpetrated by Steven Carrillo, an active-duty U.S. Air Force sergeant with ties to the 'Boogaloo' anti-government extremist movement. The first incident occurred on May 29, 2020, in Oakland, California, where Carrillo, accompanied by Robert Alvin Justus Jr., opened fire from a white van on a guard shack outside the Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building, killing Federal Protective Services Officer David Patrick Underwood and seriously wounding another officer. Prosecutors stated that Carrillo used the ongoing George Floyd protests as a diversion to target federal law enforcement, whom he considered 'enemy forces.'

A week later, on June 6, 2020, Santa Cruz County Sheriff's deputies responded to a report of a suspicious van containing firearms and bomb-making materials at Carrillo's residence in Ben Lomond, an unincorporated area near Santa Cruz. As deputies investigated, Carrillo ambushed them with gunfire and improvised explosive devices. During the attack, Sgt. Damon Gutzwiller, 38, was shot and killed, and Deputy Alex Spencer and two California Highway Patrol officers were wounded. Carrillo fled, carjacking a vehicle, but was eventually apprehended after a civilian, Sam Patzke, helped to subdue him. Carrillo was shot during his arrest.

Carrillo's motive was rooted in his allegiance to the 'Boogaloo' movement, a decentralized far-right extremist ideology advocating for a second American Civil War and violent overthrow of the government. He had posted messages online expressing his desire to carry out violent acts against law enforcement.

In February 2022, Carrillo pleaded guilty to federal murder and attempted murder charges related to the Oakland shooting, avoiding the death penalty. He was sentenced to 41 years in federal prison in June 2022. In June 2022, he also pleaded guilty to all nine state counts, including murder, for the killing of Sgt. Gutzwiller and the attempted murder of five others. In August 2022, Carrillo was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for Gutzwiller's murder, with this sentence running concurrently with his federal sentence. As part of his plea agreement, he waived his right to appeal the state verdict.

Robert Alvin Justus Jr., Carrillo's accomplice in the Oakland shooting, initially claimed he was forced to participate but was convicted by a federal jury in September 2023 of aiding and abetting the murder of Officer Underwood and the attempted murder of the second officer. In March 2024, Justus was sentenced to life in federal prison. As of December 2025, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed Justus's conviction and life sentence, rejecting his arguments regarding the admission of his social media posts as evidence. Both Carrillo and Justus remain incarcerated, serving their respective life sentences for these anti-government extremist acts.