Robert Alvin Justus Jr., 34, of Millbrae, California, was sentenced on Friday to life in prison for his role in the May 29, 2020, drive-by shooting at the Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in Oakland, California, that resulted in the murder of Protective Services Officer (PSO) Dave Patrick Underwood and the attempted murder of a second PSO. In 2022, Justus’s co-defendant, Steven Carrillo, was sentenced to 41 years in prison followed by a lifetime of supervised release for his role in the crimes.
“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 court documents, Justus was convicted by a jury of aiding and abetting the murder and attempted murder following a two-week trial. The evidence established that Justus was the driver of the vehicle from which Steven Carrillo, 35, of Santa Cruz, fired the gunshots that killed Officer Underwood and wounded the second officer.
On May 29, 2020, at approximately 9:27 p.m., Justus parked a white Ford Econoline van directly across the street from the federal courthouse building in Oakland on Jefferson Street. The van was on the southeast corner in the spot closest to the intersection with an unobstructed view of the guard post where Officer Underwood and his partner that evening stood guard to protect the building and its occupants. At approximately 9:44 p.m., the exterior lights of the van turned on and Justus drove the van north on Jefferson Street toward the guard post. The passenger-side sliding door opened, and Carrillo fired numerous rounds from an AR-style rifle toward the guard post, killing Officer Underwood and seriously injuring his partner. The image below shows the shooting in progress as Justus drove the white van across the intersection is from a courthouse security camera and was in evidence at trial.
The trial ending in Justus’s conviction contained ominous evidence of the leadup to participation in the drive-by shooting. For example, Justus and Carrillo shared an allegiance to an anti-government movement called Boogaloo. In February 2020, Justus commented on Facebook that he had a “bloodlust for police,” and in April 2020, he corresponded with an armed anti-government militia group he was interested in joining. On May 27, 2020, Justus posted an image depicting a police officer being shot in the head with a caption reading “Speak to cops in a language they understand.” In addition, on the day before the shooting, Carrillo posted a video of a mob attacking police cruisers and commented, “[T]his needs to be nationwide. It’s a great opportunity to target the specialty soup bois” – a Boogaloo slang term for federal agents. Justus responded to Carrillo’s post that same day, writing “Let’s boogie.”
The trial evidence demonstrated that, on the day of the shooting, Carrillo and Justus planned to capitalize on protests being planned in Oakland in response to the death of George Floyd. They hoped their attack would spark further anti-government violence. Carrillo and Justus met in a parking lot in San Leandro before the two circled the downtown area in Oakland several times. In the hour leading up to the shooting, Justus exited the van twice to scout the area on foot and locate targets. Investigators from the FBI, Oakland Police Department and other agencies located security video footage from numerous locations throughout Oakland showing Justus’s movements on both occasions when he left the white van but returned before the shooting. After the shooting, Justus drove Carrillo back to Millbrae and the two separated.
The incident set off an eight-day manhunt. During this time, Justus destroyed digital and physical evidence connecting him to the shooting, continued to post anti-law enforcement content on Facebook and corresponded with Carrillo about meeting in the future. Eventually, Carrillo was captured at his residence in Ben Lomond, California, but not before Carrillo killed a Santa Cruz Sheriff’s Deputy and injured another. Several days later, Justus became aware that he was under investigation and travelled to the Federal Building in San Francisco where he met with the FBI and admitted to his involvement in the shooting.
On Feb. 11, 2022, Carrillo pleaded guilty to two federal charges related to the May 29, 2020, shooting – use of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence resulting in death and attempted murder of a person assisting an officer of the U.S. government. On June 3, 2022, Judge Gonzalez Rogers sentenced Carrillo to serve 41 years in prison followed by a lifetime of supervised release for his role in the crimes. Carrillo also received a life sentence in Santa Cruz County Superior Court in connection with his murder of the Santa Cruz Sheriff’s Deputy.
The FBI, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Federal Protective Service, and U.S. Marshals Service investigated the case, with assistance from the Oakland Police Department and the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jonathan U. Lee and John C. Bostic for the Northern District of California prosecuted the case, with assistance from Trial Attorney Jessica Fender of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.