Life behind bars—that's the fate of Robert Alvin Justus, Jr. after a federal judge sentenced him for his role in a violent drive-by shooting that took the life of a Court Security Officer in 2020. Justus, 34, received a life sentence for the murder of Protective Services Officer Dave Patrick Underwood and the attempted murder of a second PSO in the attack, which took place outside the Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in Oakland, California. U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers delivered the sentence following Justus's conviction by a jury, a detail confirmed by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California.

In his statement, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said that "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." This case has indeed seen to permanently remove a marked threat from society, as Garland emphasized the intent to hold accountable those who commit such "heinous crimes." Justus's co-defendant, Steven Carrillo, was already sentenced in 2022 to 41 years in prison followed by lifetime supervision for his part in the ambush.

Evidence presented during the trial illustrated the duo's anti-government sentiments and plans to exploit protests in the wake of George Floyd's death. Justus, piloting the van used in the attack, scouted downtown Oakland mere hours before together with Carrillo, they launched their offensive with deadly precision. Jennifer Cicolani, Special Agent in Charge with the ATF's San Francisco Field Division, commended today's sentence by highlighting the everyday risks law enforcement face and expressed hope that the community could find some consolation in the outcome.

The trial outcome sheds light on Justus's and Carrillo's participation in the Boogaloo movement, an anti-government group. Leading up to the attack, Justus explicitly expressed a "bloodlust for police" on social media and sought to "speak to cops in a language they understand," an unsettling prelude to the fatal shooting. Justus tried to destroy evidence after the incident, but opposing authorities were quick to piece together his actions leading up to and following the May 29, 2020 shooting, as reported by the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Following an eight-day manhunt, Carrillo was apprehended, turbulent events including the killing of a Santa Cruz Sheriff's Deputy and wounding another. Ultimately, Justus surrendered himself to the FBI and admitted his involvement. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jonathan U. Lee and John C. Bostic, with Trial Attorney Jessica Fender of the National Security Division's Counterterrorism Section, held the prosecutorial reins, securing the convictions of both Carrillo and Justus in the case that shook the Oakland community.