Accused Attacker Charged In Ambush On​ Santa Cruz Deputies

SANTA CRUZ, CA — A U.S. Air Force sergeant accused of ambushing Santa Cruz sheriff's deputies in Ben Lomond on Saturday, killing one and injuring another, has been charged with 19 felonies, according to reports.

The accused, 32-year-old Steven Carrillo, faces charges of murder, attempted murder, carjacking and explosive charges.

Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Sgt. Damon Gutzwiller, 38, died in an area hospital after the Saturday afternoon ambush. Another deputy, Alex Spencer, was also injured either by shrapnel or gunfire. He remains hospitalized, The Mercury News reports.

A California Highway Patrol officer was also shot in the hand.

Citing unnamed law enforcement sources, the publication reported that Carrillo is also believed to be the shooter who fired on a federal officer May 29 in Oakland.

The San Francisco Chronicle reported that Carrillo took to Facebook in the two days before the shooting and shared posts criticizing law enforcement and police brutality.

“Who needs antifa to start riots when you have the police to do it for you,” Carrillo wrote Friday, according to the Chronicle.

Read more:

• Santa Cruz Co. Deputy Killed In Ben Lomond Shooting, Explosions
• Vigil Mourns Damon Gutzwiller, Santa Cruz Deputy Killed In Ambush
• FBI IDs Federal Agent, 43, Fatally Shot At Oakland Courthouse

In a Saturday news conference, Santa Cruz Sheriff Jim Hart said the attack came after a 911 caller reported seeing a suspicious van parked near Jamison Creek Road in Boulder Creek around 1:30 p.m. The caller said the van contained guns and bomb-making devices.

Deputies were dispatched to the area and saw the van leaving, Hart said. They then followed it to a home on Waldenburg Road in Ben Lomond, where they were met with gunfire and multiple improvised explosives.

Hart said Gutzwiller had a wife, a young child and another on the way. In a statement, the sheriff's office went on to describe the deputy as a "courageous, intelligent, sensitive and a caring man."

Gutzwiller was remembered Sunday afternoon during a vigil outside the sheriff's office.

"I can't describe the sense of loss I woke up with this morning," Hart said during the vigil, following an invocation by Chaplain Kathi Howard. "There's a hole in our hearts right now."

Gov. Gavin Newsom also issued a statement late Saturday, offering condolences to Gutzwiller's family, friends and coworkers: "He will be remembered as a hero who devoted his life to protecting the community and as a loving husband and father."

A fundraiser for Gutzwiller's family had raised $472,507 as of Thursday afternoon.

Santa Cruz's Sheriff's Office has not had an officer killed while on duty since 1983 when Deputy Michael Gray was shot in Felton while responding to a suspicious person call.

— Patch editor Nick Garber contributed to this report