Air Force Sgt. Charged With Murder in Calif. Officer's Shooting Death

Steven Carrillo is also believed to be the gunman in an Oakland shooting earlier this month that left a federal security officer dead, multiple sources tell NBC Bay Area

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The man arrested in the killing of a Santa Cruz sheriff's deputy has been charged with murder and faces life in prison, according to charging documents released by prosecutors.

Air Force Sgt. Steven Carrillo is scheduled to be arraigned Friday. Multiple sources tell NBC Bay Area Carrillo is linked to another deadly shooting of a law enforcement officer.

Multiple sources with knowledge of the federal investigation into both shootings say Carrillo is believed to also be the gunman in an Oakland shooting outside a federal courthouse that left Federal Security Officer David Underwood dead two weeks ago.

At the time of the killings, Carrillo was stationed at Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield, and trained in explosives and tactics.

This past weekend's shooting in Santa Cruz County took place in the community of Ben Lomond.

Santa Cruz sheriff’s deputy Sgt. Damon Gutzwiller, 38, was killed and another deputy was injured Saturday in an attack allegedly carried out by Carrillo. Officials said Carrill was armed with homemade bombs, an AR-15 rifle and other weapons. Santa Cruz County Sheriff Jim Hart said the suspect was intent on killing officers.

Santa Cruz County prosecutors filed 19 charges Thursday against Carrillo. He is accused of killing Gutzwiller and attempting to kill four other officers, as well as possessing destructive devices and the components to make others.

Meanwhile, authorities believe the van used for the Oakland shooting is the same one they recovered in the Santa Cruz County attack. They also recovered a cache of guns and explosives inside what they describe as a compound in the Santa Cruz mountains.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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