Man found guilty of shooting Mountain View police officer at close range during traffic stop

A man who shot a Mountain View police officer at point blank range during a traffic stop in 2022 was found guilty of attempted murder, authorities said.

The Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office said Wednesday that following a trial, a jury convicted 37-year-old Union City resident Jeffrey Choy for the shooting. The officer, who was shot from about an arm's length away, has since recovered from the injuries and is back on duty.

On  July 16, 2022, the officer had stopped a Ford Explorer shortly after midnight after seeing the vehicle run a stop sign in the area of Villa and Hope streets near the Caltrain Mountain View station and then drive through a four-way intersection. The officer walked up to the driver's window and after the two exchange greetings, Choy raised a 9 mm handgun and fired twice, the DA's Office said.

One bullet missed, and the second bullet went through the officer's arm and struck his bullet-proof vest, according to Mountain View police. 

Choy drove away and later crashed his vehicle near Higdon Avenue and then fled on foot. After hiding in a laundry room for hours, he escaped the city, the DA's Office said

Police said authorities spent the next 24 hours searching for Choy and discovered he'd gone to Union City, where police detectives and officers from the U.S. Marshals Service tried to detain him, but he escaped on foot. The DA's Office said he was arrested the next day outside a Black Bear Diner in Fremont, where he was having brunch with his family.

Choy faces life in prison at sentencing. A sentencing hearing has not yet been scheduled.

"This verdict reminds us that every time a law enforcement officer starts their shift, they are risking their lives to protect us and our families," said District Attorney Jeff Rosen in a prepared statement. "I thank this officer and every officer who has made it their professional responsibility to put themselves between our community and extremely dangerous people."

At the time of the shooting, Choy was a felon who was prohibited from having any weapons," the DA's Office said. He was out on bail and had an active warrant for possessing a gun found during a March 2022 traffic stop.