Turlock militia leader, others admit they destroyed records to hinder homicide probe
A Turlock man and three other defendants linked to an extremist group entered plea agreements admitting they destroyed records to thwart an investigation into the fatal shooting of a federal security officer last year.
Jessie Rush, 29, of Turlock, and three Bay Area men — Robert Blancas, 33, a transient, Simon Ybarra, 23, of Los Gatos and Kenny Miksch, 21, of San Lorenzo — entered guilty pleas in the past week and last month in the U.S. District Court in San Francisco, the Department of Justice said.
They were indicted March 23 on charges of destroying records after the May 2020 fatal shooting at the federal building in Oakland.
The Department of Justice said in a news release that Rush and the other defendants were members of the Grizzly Scouts militia group and connected to the boogaloo movement, which espouses a violent uprising against the government.
Steven Carrillo, a Grizzly Scouts member, is charged with the murder of security officer David Patrick Underwood and attempted murder of a second security officer who was wounded. Robert A. Justus Jr. is charged with driving a van that stopped while Carrillo fired at the officers from a side door.
The killing led to a manhunt that ended in Ben Lomond in the Santa Cruz mountains, where Carrillo allegedly fired shots that killed a sheriff’s sergeant.
According the plea agreements, Rush named himself commanding officer of the armed anti-government Grizzly Scouts with a rank of “major”.
The news release said the four men held group meetings for firearms training and engaged in armed “training operations” in May 2020. The training included “operations orders” that referred to law enforcement as potential “enemy forces” and suggested the use of lethal force and taking prisoners.
The defendants also admitted to holding discussions in June 2020 with other Grizzly Scouts about boogaloo and waging war against the government, prosecutors said. Boogaloo is a conceptual term used by some militia extremists referring to a politically motivated civil war or uprising against government authority.
Rush, Blancas, Ybarra and Miksch each acknowledged that the Grizzly Scouts member accused in the Oakland shooting sent communications to them on a WhatsApp group titled “209 Goon HQ” saying, “Dudes i offed a fed” and asking them to come to his aid during the shootout with Santa Cruz County deputies.
Rush admitted to instructing Carrillo to delete data on his phone and flee from the area, the Department of Justice said.
According to the news release, Rush and the other defendants each admitted to conspiring with other group members to destroy records of their interactions and communications in anticipation of authorities investigating the shootings.
Blancas pleaded guilty in late August to a separate charge of enticement of a minor to engage in production of child pornography. Blancas admitted that from April through September 2020, he enticed a 15-year-old girl to take and send him pornographic photos and videos of herself, the news release said.
The four men each face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for conspiracy to destroy the records. Blancas is also facing a penalty of at least 10 years in prison for enticing a minor to engage in sexual activity. The penalties will be imposed after the court considers federal sentencing guidelines.
Rush is scheduled for sentencing Jan. 10, 2022, and sentencing hearings for Ybarra and Miksch are set for Feb. 7. Blancas has a sentencing hearing Dec. 6.
This story was originally published September 21, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
