At a press conference Monday, two days after Sgt. Damon Gutzwiller was ambushed and killed in the hills of Ben Lomond, Sheriff Jim Hart described how the suspect ━ wearing an AR-15, pipe bomb and pistol ━ was tackled by a local man who disarmed him and wrestled him to the ground until neighbors and deputies arrived.
Damon Gutzwiller
“A remarkable, remarkable heroic thing,” Hart said, adding that he would like to give this man a medal.
Hart said the man does not want to be named.
Hart said it appears a second deputy was shot in the chest and suffered shrapnel wounds from a bomb set off by the suspect. His protective vest stopped the bullet but he has internal trauma, Hart said, describing the deputy as “in good spirits and stable condition.”
The suspect, Steven Carrillo, 32, on active duty in the Air Force, is scheduled for arraignment at 1:30 p.m. Friday, according to District Attorney Jeff Rosell.
Jim Hart
John Bennett, special agent in charge of the San Francisco Division of the FBI, said bomb technicians and a SWAT team have come from San Francisco and Los Angeles, and are combing the terrain, which he said is “unforgiving.”
He said other FBI agents have come from the headquarters in Washington, D.C., to focus on the bullet trajectory.
Sheriff Hart said the FBI is actively pursuing the possibility of a link between the white Ford cargo van with no license plate which the FBI believes was driven by the shooter in the May 29, 2020 shooting at the Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building in Oakland.
Flowers outside the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office. ● Photo Credit: Jondi Gumz
Of the Gutzwiller case, Hart said, “We are looking into every lead ━ wherever it takes us.”
Hart said the suspect car-jacked two vehicles and may have victimized others.
He asked for the public’s help.
“If you saw anything, please come forward,” he said.
Tips can be phoned into 831-454-2588.
When Hart called for mutual aid Saturday, 40 agencies responded, sending hundreds of officers.
Deputies listen during the Gutzwiller press conference. ● Photo Credit: Jondi Gumz
He thanked the community of Ben Lomond, an unincorporated town of 6,000, for providing food, water and support to law enforcement.
While the investigation is ongoing, Hart emphasized, “This is about Sgt. Damon Gutzwiller … someone we all loved.”
A thousand people attended at vigil in his memory Sunday afternoon at the Sheriff’s Office.
Gutzwiller was a 1999 graduate of Aptos High School and a 14-year veteran of the Sheriff’s Office. He was married with one child and one on the way.
“We’re never going to forget him,” Hart said.
Cameras at Sheriff Jim Hart’s press conference. ● Photo Credit: Jondi Gumz
Story By Jondi Gumz