PORT ANGELES — Bail has been set at $500,000 for a Port Angeles man accused of shooting his father to death.
Shay C. Darrow, 27, is being investigated for the Thursday murder of Clint Darrow. Bail was set at a hearing Friday in Clallam County Superior Court.
Clint Darrow, who owned Van Goes Take &Bake Pizza in Port Angeles, was found with an apparent gunshot wound to the head in a bedroom of his residence at 201 W. Ninth St., according to the affidavit for probable cause.
Port Angeles police found several spent .45-caliber shell casings near Clint Darrow’s body and several apparent bullet holes in the bedroom door and a bathroom door across the hallway, the affidavit said.
Shay Darrow phoned 9-1-1 at about 1:11 p.m. Thursday to say he had “committed a homicide” at his father’s house, Detective Shane Martin said in the arrest narrative.
“When asked what happened, Shay said, ‘Uh, I shot my dad,’” Martin wrote.
An acquaintance told police that Shay Darrow had been diagnosed as schizophrenic and had recently stopped taking his medication, Martin said.
A relative told police that Shay was schizophrenic and that “she had been trying to take Shay’s gun away from him for the last couple of weeks,” Martin said.
Michele Devlin, Clallam County chief criminal deputy prosecuting attorney, requested a $500,000 bail for Darrow in the Friday court hearing.
“This is a brutal homicide, one where Mr. Darrow indicates that ‘anger has built over years,’” Devlin said in a 10-minute bail hearing.
“The state is concerned for community safety, not only based upon the brutal homicide of his father, but also on the behavior after his arrest.”
After his arrest, Shay Darrow was evaluated at Olympic Medical Center, where Officers Michael Johnson and Luke Brown overheard him saying, “I’m not responsible for what happens next,” Martin wrote in his arrest report.
“At that moment, Shay began trying to slip out of his hand restraints,” Martin said.
“Shay continued to attempt to break his hand restraints despite officer(s) Johnson and Brown telling him to stop.”
Darrow was booked into the Clallam County jail at 3:32 p.m. Thursday for investigation of second-degree murder with domestic violence.
He told police that there had been no argument before the shooting.
“Officer Brown asked him what it was about and Shay responded, ‘There has been anger that’s built up over the years. I’ve had issues with my dad over the years,’” Martin said in the arrest report.
“As Officer Brown continued to ask Shay questions, he invoked his right to remain silent.”
The Clallam County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office will consider filing a formal charge at 1 p.m. Tuesday.
“Mr. Darrow is a community safety risk,” Devlin said at the bail hearing.
“Although he has limited criminal history, I think the seriousness of the crime and the community safety risk that we have entails a large bail amount.”
Clallam County Superior Court Judge Christopher Melly granted Devlin’s request for a $500,000 bail based on the nature of the allegations and community safety concerns.
“I’d also like to have Peninsula Behavioral Health do an evaluation while Mr. Barrow is being held,” Melly said.
“I just want to see if he is in need of any kind of services under RCW 71.05.”
The Revised Code of Washington section 71.05 addresses mental illness.
Melly signed a referral for Peninsula Behavioral Health to conduct a mental health assessment for Darrow by Tuesday.
Shortly after reporting the alleged homicide, Darrow was arrested standing near a 2002 Nissan Xterra in a parking lot in the 500 block of East Eighth Street.
Officer Sky Sexton obtained a search warrant for the vehicle and discovered a semi-automatic .45-caliber pistol with a magazine containing live .45-caliber ammunition on the passenger seat, Martin said in his report.
An autopsy was conducted on Clint Darrow’s body Friday, Clallam County Prosecuting Attorney and Coroner Mark Nichols said.
Port Angeles police and State Patrol investigators continued to gather evidence at the crime scene Friday.
A squad car with flashing lights blocked Oak Street in front of Clint Darrow’s Ninth Street residence for much of the day.
“This investigation will continue past the long weekend and into next week,” Port Angeles Deputy Police Chief Jason Viada said in a news release.
“The Port Angeles Police Department Detective Division will provide the Clallam County Prosecutor’s Office with information that will be used to make a charging decision.”
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56450, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
Shay Clinton Darrow makes his first appearance in Clallam County Superior Court on Friday on a charge of second-degree murder in connection with the shooting death of his father, Clint Darrow, on Thursday in Port Angeles. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)
