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Alleged Gunman In Deputy’s Ambush Slaying Was An Air Force Sergeant


The California man who allegedly gunned down a sheriff’s deputy in an ambush is an active-duty Air Force sergeant, officials said Sunday.

Steven Carrillo, 32, was stationed at Travis Air Force Base when he allegedly killed Santa Cruz County Sheriff Sgt. Damon Gutzwiller while being pursued Saturday in Ben Lomond, according to the US Air Force.

Santa Cruz deputies responded to a 911 call around 1:30 p.m. Saturday about a suspicious van with guns and bomb-making devices inside, authorities said.


But as they arrived, the van pulled away, sending the officers on a chase down a driveway to Carillo’s home, authorities said.

Deputies got out of their vehicle and were ambushed by explosives and gunfire, which fatally wounded Gutzwiller, officials said.

“Sergeant Damon Gutzwiller was shot and taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead,” Sheriff Jim Hart, according to news station KPIX.

“Another deputy was either shot or struck by shrapnel and struck by a car as the suspect fled the property. We are hopeful the deputy will recover.”

Carrillo then attempted to carjack a vehicle and was wounded while getting arrested, officials said. He was taken to the hospital for treatment and will be charged with first-degree murder.

A California Highway Patrol officer also suffered a hand-wound in the incident and was expected to survive, KPIX reported.

Travis Air Force Base confirmed Sunday that Carrillo had arrived at the base in June 2018 and was a member of the 60th Security Forces Squadron.

His late wife Monika Leigh Scott Carrillo, who was also a member of the Air Force, was found dead at a hotel in May 2018 while she was stationed in South Carolina.

Her death was ruled a suicide after an investigation by the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office, in coordination with the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, according to the Air Force.

The FBI said it was also investigating whether Carrillo’s white van was the same one used in the fatal shooting of federal protective services officer David Underwood May 29 during George Floyd protests in Oakland.

“We are working with the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Department to determine a possible motive and/or links to other crimes committed in the Bay Area, to include the shooting of the FPS officers in Oakland,” the FBI said in a statement, according to KPIX.

Story cited here.

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