By MES Dispatch Staff
The Briefing
- A Santa Clara County judge sentenced Jeffrey Thomas Choy, 43, of Union City, to 50 years to life in prison Wednesday for the July 16, 2022, shooting of Mountain View Police Detective Raymond Clutter.
- A jury convicted Choy on May 6 of attempted murder and multiple firearms charges.
- The sentence, two consecutive terms of 25 years to life for the attempted murder charge and a gun enhancement, is the maximum he could have received for the shooting.
- Choy also received a separate four-year term for illegally possessing the firearm, which he was barred from owning because of prior felony convictions.
- Clutter, who has returned to duty, told the court the shooting has caused lasting trauma and asked for the maximum sentence.
SAN JOSE, Calif. — A Union City man convicted of shooting a Mountain View police detective during a 2022 DUI stop was sentenced Wednesday to 50 years to life in prison, according to the Bay Area News Group.
Jeffrey Thomas Choy, 43, was convicted May 6 of attempted murder and firearms charges in the July 16, 2022, shooting of Detective Raymond Clutter. Judge Brian Buckelew imposed consecutive terms of 25 years to life for the attempted murder charge and a gun enhancement, the maximum available. Choy received an additional four-year sentence for illegal possession of the gun used in the shooting, since he was prohibited from owning firearms after felony convictions for residential burglary in 2008 and attempted robbery in 2015, both in Alameda County. Prosecutors said he was on bail for a March 2022 gun possession arrest when the shooting occurred.
Members of the Mountain View Police Department filled the courtroom. Clutter, who has returned to police duty, told the judge he continues to live with the psychological aftermath of the shooting and described heightened vigilance at work and at home. He said it also disrupted his Army career and put him through a difficult workers’ compensation process.
Buckelew said Choy showed “a complete disregard for human life” and described the shooting as an attack on the principle that allows a civilized society to function. The judge noted that Clutter’s survival does not lessen the seriousness of the crime.
According to investigators, Clutter was working a DUI enforcement shift shortly after midnight when he saw a gold Ford Explorer run a stop sign near Villa and Hope streets. After the driver stopped near Wild Cherry Lane, Clutter approached the driver’s side window, heard the sound of a handgun slide being racked, and saw Choy point a pistol out the window and fire twice, according to investigators. Body camera footage captured the moment. One bullet struck Clutter’s left forearm and shoulder and was stopped by his bulletproof vest. He was treated and released from the hospital the same day.
Choy drove less than a mile before crashing and fleeing on foot. Authorities said he hid for several hours in a laundry room. About 24 hours later, an Alameda County Sheriff’s Office surveillance plane tracked him to a Fremont restaurant, where U.S. Marshals and Mountain View detectives arrested him after a brief foot chase.