Ex-US Air Force Staff Sergeant, Steven Carrillo, To Plead Guilty To Killing Of Federal Security Officer

Alleged Boogaloo extremist, Ex-US Air Force Staff Sergeant Steven Carrillo, is now scheduled to change his not guilty plea to a guilty plea in the case of his killing of federal security officer David Patrick Underwood in Northern California. He is scheduled to change his plea on Friday at a federal court in San Francisco.

The 33-year-old Air Force sergeant, lined to the anti-government Boogaloo Bois movement, originally pleaded not guilty to the killing of Underwood, who was shot while standing guard in uniform in front of the Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building in Oakland on May 29, 2020, while the George Floyd protests were happening.

Just a week after his fatal shooting of Underwood, Carrillo would kill again when Santa Cruz County Sherriffs arrived at his property in Ben Lomond, California. Carillo fired his AR-15 rifle at officers and threw an explosive at them, instantly killing Sheriff Sergeant Damon Gutzwiller and wounding a deputy and another trooper from the California Highway Patrol.

The Boogaloo movement believes that a second US civil war was about to happen. They called it the “boogaloo” in reference to the 1984 film Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo. It’s unclear what the movement is ideologically speaking. However, a common and recurring theme for the Boogaloo is their love for violence. They are known for capitalizing on high-tension events to by attending protests in combat gear ready to do battle with someone. Many adherents of the movement  call themselves the “Boogaloo Bois.”

Being inspired by the movement, Carrillo now faces multiple federal charges in the murders of Underwood and Gutzwiller. Once a proud Air Force Staff Sergeant stationed at Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield, he started his journey toward the far right when he embraced the tea party movement and an extreme interpretation of the Second Amendment gun rights, eventually finding himself associated with the Boogaloo Bois on the internet. He was said to be introduced to the Boogaloo content by his friends in the Air Force, who shared the same principles he did.

Eventually, Steven Carrillo would meet and train with Ivan Hunter (leader of the Boogaloo Bois in Texas) and other members of the Boogaloo armed militia known as the Grizzly Scouts (otherwise known as the 1st Detachment of the 1st California Scouts). They were also charged with federal crimes to which they are also set to plead guilty to.

Traditionally not having any command structures or leadership within the group, Steven Carrillo would seem to be proof that the Boogaloo Bois, could still coordinate, and execute planned attacks on uniformed personnel.

During his time with the Grizzly Scouts, he would help discuss tactics on how to kill law enforcement officers and other uniformed personnel that they saw to be manifestations of the government they hated.

Apparently, his violent nature was not a surprise to his close friends and family, as he would reportedly assault his mother repeatedly. His siblings had stated that they thought Carrillo had severe mental health issues, and this reflected on his character when the Air Force had to confiscate his gun as he was deemed to be a danger to himself and others around him. Soon he became more isolated from friends and family after his wife committed suicide in 2018, leading to his murderous rampage in the latter years during the BLM protests, which his fiance would say “unleashed the worst” in Carrillo.

Seemingly unremorseful of lives he took, Steven Carrillo texted and bragged on social media groups about the homicide.

In response to concerns about political extremism within the military, the Air Force released a statement saying, “Supporting extremist ideology, especially that which calls for violence or the deprivation of civil liberties of certain members of society, violates the oath every service member takes to support and defend the Constitution of the United States.”

Carrillo’s fate is now in the hands of the courts. Together with his codefendent, Robert Alvin Justus, who acted as his escape driver during the Underwood killings (allegedly being threatened by Carrillo to join him), they both face federal charges that can keep them locked away for the rest of their life.