Steven Carrillo charged in Oakland, Santa Cruz Co. officer killings linked to Boogaloo movement, federal investigators say
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Federal investigators have linked the man charged with killing a federal police officer in Oakland and a Santa Cruz Sheriff's deputy with the Boogaloo movement. ABC7 News. I-TEAM reporter Melanie Woodrow spoke with Steven Carrillo's attorney about Carrillo's alleged involvement in that group and what it means.
Air Force Sergeant Steven Carrillo is on modified suicide watch at the Monterey County Jail according to his attorney Jeffrey Stotter.
"He is monitored 24 hours by cameras," said Stotter.
Carrillo was already facing 19 felony counts in connection with the murder of Santa Cruz Sheriff's Deputy Sgt. Damon Gutzwiller when he was charged in a federal criminal complaint earlier this week for the murder of federal officer Pat Underwood.
FBI special agent in Charge John Bennett said Carrillo along with accomplice Robert Justus took advantage at a time when the nation was mourning the killing of George Floyd.
"They came to Oakland to kill cops," said Bennett.
"How does one reconcile what seems like an insane act that seems like an act that is wholly inconsistent with a person's record and history," said Stotter.
U.S. Attorney David Anderson says Carrillo used his own blood to write phrases associated with the Boogaloo movement on the hood of a car he carjacked.
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"The Boogaloo term is used by extremists to reference a violent uprising, or impending civil war in the United States," said Anderson.
"It seems to be very active in social media and it reaches out to vulnerable individuals and somehow sucks them in."
According to the federal criminal complaint Carillo and Justus met on Facebook. On the morning of the attack, Carrillo commented, "Go to the riots and support our own cause. Show them the real targets. Use their anger to fuel our fire. Think outside the box. We have mobs of angry people to use to our advantage."
Carrillo's attorney says his involvement in any organized or unorganized ideologies is at this point unproven.
Stotter is also examining what if any role Carrillo's wife's suicide and a non-service related traumatic brain injury from a car accident may have had on Carrillo's mental state.
He says Carrillo's family is caring for his 8-year-old son and 5-year-old daughter.
