Bail set at $1 million for doctor's accused killer

A Sutter County judge on Wednesday set bail at $1 million for a Sebastopol man charged with the first-degree murder of a Yuba City doctor.

Judge Brian Aronson set a Sept. 24 preliminary hearing for Jeff Wayne Clay, who was arrested Sept. 4, the day after badly injured anesthesiologist Hyo Seoung Shin was found behind an apartment building at 755 Shasta St. in Yuba City. Shin died Sept. 5 at U.C. Davis Medical Center in Sacramento.

According to a coroner's report, Shin died of blunt force trauma to the head and pelvis, resulting in multiple organ failure and hemorrhagic shock, but the report does not indicate how the trauma occurred, Sutter County Sheriff's Department Lt. Butah Uppal said Wednesday.

Kim L. Ryan, one of Clay's two Nevada City attorneys, called evidence against her client "really thin" and said it came from a "known hooker" whose involvement in the death is unknown.

Police said Shin was visiting someone at the apartment building.

The day after Shin was found, a resident of the building, Sarah Janeen Johnson, 29, was arrested on suspicion of being an accessory to the murder but was promptly released on her own recognizance. Johnson, who also goes by the last name of Garibay, is scheduled to make her initial appearance Sept. 27 in Sutter County Superior Court.

Deputy District Attorney Anu Chopra said she strongly opposed bail for Clay, saying Shin was the victim of a brutal assault.

Ryan said her client "does not even know who the victim is," so releasing Clay on bail should not be a concern to Shin's family.

In addition to murder, police arrested Clay on suspicion of possession of a gun and ammunition by a felon.

The felony conviction occurred 20 years ago, Ryan said.

Clay was living in town while working on construction of Yuba City's new water tank at Lincoln and Sanborn roads, where he was arrested Sept. 4.

Attorneys on both sides said they had not received copies of the autopsy on Shin.

A final report by the pathologist who performed the autopsy on Shin, including toxicological tests, is pending, Uppal said.

After reading the police report, Aronson said, he was not sure if the killing was provoked or not. He called it "pretty brutal."

Aronson set bail at $1 million, saying, "Mr. Clay, I don't know if that does you any good or not."

Ryan inquired about securing Clay's release on a property bond.

Defendants must pay 10 percent of bail to be released. That would be $100,000 in Clay's case.