‘Boogaloo boy’ sentenced to life in prison for killing officer at Oakland courthouse

Alex Baker
·2 min read
10

(KRON) — A member of a far-right anti-government extremist group was sentenced to life in prison for his part in a May 2020 drive-by shooting in Oakland, the Federal Bureau of Investigation announced Monday. Robert Alvin Justus Jr. was previously convicted by jury of aiding and abetting murder and attempted murder in the killing of Protective Services Officer (PSA) Dave Patrick Underwood and the attempted murder of a second PSA.

The shooting took place at the Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in Oakland.

Justus’s co-defendant in the case, Steven Carillo, was sentenced to 41 years in prison with a lifetime of supervised release in 2022.

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“With this sentence, the Justice Department has ensured that both of the defendants responsible for brutally murdering a law enforcement officer and seriously wounding another are held accountable for their heinous crimes,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “Law enforcement officers serve their communities at great risk to themselves, and anyone who targets these brave men and women will be met with the full force of the Justice Department.”

According to evidence presented at the trial, Justus, 34, of Millbrae, was the driver of the vehicle from which Carillo, 35, of Santa Cruz, fired the shots that killed Officer Underwood and wounded a second officer.

On May 29, 2020 at around 9:27 p.m., Justus drove a white Ford Econoline van toward a guard post where Officer Underwood and his partner were on duty. The passenger-side sliding door opened and Carillo fired several rounds from an AR-style rifle, killing Underwood and seriously injuring his partner.

Justus and Carillo shared allegiance to the anti-government Boogaloo movement and hoped to capitalize on protests in Oakland at the time in response to George Floyd’s murder. The two hoped their attack would spark more anti-government violence, the FBI said.

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