Hospital releases deputy wounded in Ben Lomond ‘ambush’ shooting

A Santa Cruz County sheriff’s deputy wounded in an “ambush” shooting that killed a sergeant in Ben Lomond earlier this month has been released from the hospital to recover from his injuries at home, the sheriff’s office said Sunday.

The sheriff’s office on Sunday evening posted a video of Deputy Alex Spencer leaving the hospital to applause from his fellow first responders and other supporters.

The June 6 shooting at a home at Waldeberg Road killed 38-year-old sheriff’s Sgt. Damon Gutzwiller and injured Spencer. Steven Carrillo of Ben Lomond was arrested on suspicion of the killing, according to the sheriff’s office.

Later that day, Sheriff Jim Hart described the shooting of the deputies as an “ambush” after they had responded to a van filled with firearms and “bomb-making supplies” parked alongside Jamison Creek Road near Boulder Creek. The deputies found the van and followed it back to the Waldeberg Road residence.

There, Gutzwiller was shot and killed and Spencer was shot, hit with shrapnel and struck by the suspect’s vehicle, sheriff’s officials said.

The suspect, later identified as Carrillo, also allegedly shot a California Highway Patrol officer in the hand and tried to carjack a vehicle, then successfully carjacked a second one, but was eventually arrested on Alba Road just off state Highway 9 and was shot during his arrest, Hart said.