Latest news with #BrentMetz
Daily Mail
5 days ago
- General
- Daily Mail
Colorado councilman Brent Metz accused of disturbing act on 17-year-old near his $1.5m home loses his seat
A local Colorado councilman has sensationally lost his seat after he allegedly shot a 17-year-old in the face while the teen was looking for a picturesque spot to take homecoming photos. Brent Metz, 39, was removed from his seat last week in a recall vote by horrified residents of Mountain View, a tiny 12-square-block enclave just outside of Denver. He is facing trial on four felonies related to the September incident including assault, menacing and illegal discharge of a firearm. The identity of the teenager, who survived, has not been released. 'The fact that the incident happened is kind of a blight on the town,' former mayor Jeff Kiddie, an instrumental member of the recall committee, tells Daily Mail. 'To have somebody make that rash judgement, accidental or not, just the act of pulling the firearm on two teenagers? ... It just doesn't rise to that level of need.' According to the arrest affidavit, the 17-year-old and his friend were driving through the mountain community of Conifer on Wednesday, September 11, when they spotted a home on with a scenic lake, dock and vistas. The pair parked at the gate and walked up the long driveway, knocking on the door to ask for permission to take pictures at the site for homecoming the following weekend. When nobody answered, the teens returned to their white Audi, parked on the road, where one 'took out his school binder and was writing a note to leave for the homeowner.' Metz was elected to Mountain View Town Council in 2023 but recalled last week; he is pictured with his fellow council member and live-in partner, Brittany Loucher, center, who called the police to report the teens trespassing in September, and Mayor Emilie MItcham Unbeknownst to them, the property, valued at nearly $1.5million, belonged to Metz. His girlfriend, who also serves on the Mountain View council and lives with Metz at the home, spotted the teens and called both the councilman and police to report trespassing. But Metz, listed on voting records as a registered Republican, arrived first. He pulled his truck, a Black GMC Sierra, alongside the passenger side of the teens' car 'so the Audi could not pull forward.' The 6'3, 225-pound councilman got out of the truck, walked towards the Audi, 'pulled a handgun from his holster and pointed it towards them,' the affidavit continues. The next thing the teens knew, the gun went off, the windshield shattered and Metz exclaimed: 'Oh s***, my gun went off.' A Jefferson County sheriff's deputy arrived minutes later, responding to the call from Metz's girlfriend, Brittany Loecher. He found the victim 'bleeding heavily from his face' with 'blood running down his arm,' a white t-shirt held to the teen's face to put pressure on the wound. 'The right corner of his mouth appeared to be missing flesh and he also had [wounds] on both the right and left side of his nose which were actively bleeding' and 'also had swelling around both of his eyes,' the affidavit states. The deputy noted the bullet hole in the windshield and handcuffed Metz, who did not answer when asked whether he'd shot the gun but did ask for a lawyer. The victim told the deputy that he didn't think Metz had intentionally shot him 'and did not see the gun but only heard the shot,' according to the affidavit. 'He also said [Metz] tried to help him after the gun went off,' it continued. The teenage victim was taken by ambulance to the hospital, where the deputy was told doctors 'believed there was a fragment of a bullet located in [the victim's] head.' Metz was charged with one count of assault in the second degree, two counts of menacing and one count of illegal discharge of a firearm. He pleaded not guilty in April to the charges, all felonies. By that time, however, Kiddie and others had spent months working towards a recall. 'We were expecting a resignation of some sort, and when it became perfectly clear that that wasn't the case, that's where we formed a recall committee,' the former mayor says. Metz sent a letter to constituents before the vote offering his side of the story, describing the incident as 'an unintentional discharge of a firearm and the injury of another person. 'I am thankful that this individual appears to have quickly recovered, and I want to assure you that I never intended to harm anyone,' he said in the letter, provided to the Daily Mail by Metz's lawyers. Addressing constituents and neighbors querying why he wouldn't just resign, he insisted upon his innocence and asked: 'What would you do, if you were wrongfully accused of a crime? However much easier a choice this would be, would you abandon your sworn obligation to your neighbors and community?' The community provided its answer in the recall vote. More than 60 percent of voters decided to oust him, replacing Metz with candidate Ryan Debner, according to Ballotpedia. When contacted separately by Daily Mail, Ms Loecher responded through Metz's lawyer, who complained it was 'disrespectful' to seek comment from the sitting public representative regarding the recall and the shooting. 'Brittany has authorized me to inform you not to contact her directly regarding Mr Metz's criminal or recall matters,' Christopher R Decker wrote to Daily Mail. Misspelling his client's name, he added that Locher was 'confident that Mr Mets (sic) will be found not guilty, as he is presumed, and as all the facts will be established at trial.' Mountain View Mayor Emilie MItcham did not return Daily Mail requests for comment. A pre-trial court date for Metz is scheduled for June 23.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Yahoo
Mountain View council member accused of shooting teen in the face recalled in special election
DENVER (KDVR) — Voters in Mountain View made their opinions known in a special election to recall town council member Brent Metz, voting overwhelmingly to relieve him of the position. Metz, 39, was charged with second-degree assault, illegal discharge of a firearm and two counts of felony menacing in September 2024 after he allegedly shot a 17-year-old boy in the face. Metz has not entered a plea for any of the charges. Free on Your TV • New FOX31+ App for Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV A petition requesting the recall election for Metz was circulated in January. The unofficial special election results point to Ryan Debner taking Metz's seat on council. On Tuesday, FOX31 learned that the preliminary, unofficial election results show 127 people voting to recall Metz, with 72 voting to allow him to keep his position on the town council. Metz has been a Mountain View town council member since at least 2021. The shooting is alleged to have happened on Sept. 10, 2024, in the 23000 block of Pleasant Park Road. The two teenagers involved in the incident told the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office they had hopped a fence to go talk to the homeowner of a property associated with Metz because they were looking for a spot to take homecoming photos. The teens knocked on the front door, and received no answer, so they walked part of the property to try and locate someone. Police said that during this, a resident of the home called police to report the boys, and also called her boyfriend, Metz. 'I was going to die': Boy recalls friend getting shot in face in Jeffco, affidavit states Deputies arrived at the property to find a 17-year-old bleeding heavily from his face and a bullet hole in the teenager's windshield. While charges were filed against Metz, the sheriff's office said the teens would not face charges because there did not appear to be any malicious intent. Metz is scheduled to appear in court for a pretrial conference on June 23. He posted a $5,000 personal recognizance bond on Sept. 11, 2024. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
CBS News
17-05-2025
- CBS News
Defense for Colorado man accused of shooting teenager says gun to blame
The defense for a Colorado man accused of shooting a 17-year-old in the face last September plans to put the onus on the weapon used. "He's absolutely sorry for what happened. It was a complete mistake. It was an unintentional firing of his weapon," said defense attorney David Jones. Jones and co-counsel Chris Decker plan to make the case that the weapon used by Brent Metz in a shooting along Pleasant Park Road in Conifer was faulty and misfired. The teen survived. CBS "The facts as we understand them are he was drawing it from his truck to place it on his hip, as he was turning, the weapon went off," said Decker. Metz is very familiar with weapons and regularly carries, said the attorneys. "He's been a concealed weapon carrying permit for 18 years, he's got extensive experience with firearms," said Jones. The defense blames the functioning of the Sig Sauer P320 that Metz used. "There are a number of circumstances well documented where these weapons are going off without the intent or physical interaction of the person holding it," said Decker. "Should there be responsibility? Absolutely. And we feel that should fall on Sig Sauer." CBS There have been claims from some police officers that weapons have fired while holstered. In February, a federal judge in Georgia denied Sig Sauer's request for a new trial after a Georgia man was awarded $2.3 million after one of the P320s fired as he was holstering it. Sig Sauer did not reply to a request for comment on the allegations by Metz's attorneys. But last year, it did post a public statement about claims involving the P320. "Claims that the P320 is capable of firing without a trigger pull are without merit and have been soundly rejected as a matter of law." Still, the company did offer a free update on the weapon in 2017 and redesigned some internal parts, including the sear, a part that holds back the striker until proper pressure is applied to the trigger. Metz's gun was produced after the change, admitted Decker. "Which we believe does not and did not solve the problem here," he said. Some police departments, including Denver, do not allow the use of the weapon. "The Denver Police Department Firearm Unit evaluated the Sig Sauer P320 platform and were able to recreate safety issues, which ultimately led the department to make what we believe to be a prudent decision to disallow DPD officers' use of this firearm platform," said DPD in reply to an emailed inquiry. The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office, the arresting agency in the Metz case, says its use of the P320 is under review. Deputies buy their own weapons, and about 8% use the P320. "We have had zero problems," said department spokesperson Jacki Kelley. CBS Metz, a town councilmember in Mountain View who is on leave after his arrest, faces a recall election next week. Whether the gun was faulty or not may not be the core issue of the case. The defense still has significant challenges, even if it claims the gun was faulty, says former prosecution attorney Raj Chohan. "Very likely the prosecution is going to say that's a bunch of nonsense, given all the context in place: pulling the vehicle in to block the other car from leaving, getting out, pointing the gun in the direction of the person who was shot, and then having the gun go off," said Cohan. Metz reportedly pulled his vehicle in front of the victim's car at an angle and got out, grabbing a gun off the seat. CBS The affidavit shows the other teenager in the car told the arriving deputy that Metz got out and walked toward their car. He "pulled a handgun from his holster and pointed it towards them," the teenager said, before it went off, firing a bullet through the windshield and into his companion's face. The 15-year-old said he heard Metz exclaim, "Oh _____, my gun went off." The defense says they will make the case that he was mistaken about the gun being pointed towards them. "We don't believe that's the case," said Jones. Among the gun safety rules published by the National Rifle Association, the first states, "Always keep the gun pointed in a safe direction. This is the primary rule of gun safety." At some point, the gun was pointed toward the victim to fire in that direction. Chohan believes the defense will have to put Metz on the stand to testify his version of events, which will open him to cross-examination. He said, "The question is going to be, why did you pull the gun to begin with? And if you didn't mean to use it, why was it out? And why did you block the car in?" The jury will have to weigh the motivation behind Metz's claims and any conflict with other testimony, particularly from the boys. "There's going to be some deference given to what they saw and what they remember. And the person who's got the most self-serving version of this is going to be the shooter," said Chohan. But he added that the defense is doing its job, going after the issue of intent, which is important for the most serious charge of assault in the second degree. The district attorney in Jefferson County had no comment, noting the case is pending. The next court date is in late June, and the trial will be beyond that. It will be up a judge or jury to decide the validity of the defense's arguments. "They're going to sit there and go, what makes more sense?" said Chohan.
