SAN FRANCISCO – Ex-US Air Force sergeant Steven Carrillo, 33, plans to change his “not guilty plea” in the shooting case of Northern California security officer David Patrick Underwood in 2020, reports arrived on Monday.
“Ex-Air Force Sgt (and Boogaloo militia member) Steven Carrillo is going to plead guilty in the killing of FPS Ofc. Pat Underwood, who was killed in May 2020 outside the federal building in downtown Oakland”, Nate Gartrell Tweeted.
In July 2020, former sergeant Carrillo pleaded not guilty after fatally shooting David Patrick Underwood while the victim was standing near a federal building in a guard booth in Oakland.
Monday records from the court appeared to show that Carrillo, who belongs to Santa Cruz, planned to change his not guilty plea on Friday before a federal court in San Francisco. James Thomson, who is representing the suspect in court, did not immediately respond to the request for comments from The Associated Press.
On January 31, federal prosecutors decided not to proceed with the death penalty.
According to the prosecutor’s statement, Carrillo is linked to the “boogaloo” movement – a far-right anti-government movement in the US whose members are often known as boogaloo boys. The group started on the internet with alt-right culture with the firm belief that “there is an impending civil war”, as per the experts reporting.
Carrillo has been accused of fatally shooting the federal security officer David Patrick Underwood from a van after deliberate planning with Robert Alvin Justus Jr. The two were accused of taking advantage of the crowd distraction marching through Oakland’s downtown, authorities said.
A week after the Oakland incident, Carrillo purportedly ambushed Santa Cruz sheriff’s deputies who were responding to a call of a vehicle loaded with firearms. The attack killed Sgt. Damon Gutzwiller, 38, and several other officials wounded, revealed the state authorities and court’s documents.
“Remember this? Staff Sgt. Steven Carrillo, 32, who had ties to the far-right, anti-government “boogaloo” movement killed a Northern California Sheriff’s Deputy, Damon Gutzwiller just a little over a week”, Tweet.
Santa Cruz prosecutors charged Carrillo with a “slew of felonies, including murder and attempted murder in connection to that killing”. Carrillo escaped the charges for Gutzwiller’s murder
