Prosecutors have filed felony charges against a Mountain View councilmember accused of shooting a 17-year-old in the face last week.
Brent Metz faces charges including second-degree assault, felony menacing and illegal discharge of a firearm. The charges stem from a Sept. 10 shooting that seriously injured the teen, who was with a 15-year-old friend at the time.
The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement the day after the shooting that deputies initially responded to a call from a homeowner who said there were two trespassers on her property, which is on the 23000 block of Pleasant Park Road. It said the homeowner also contacted Metz, her boyfriend, about the trespassers.
Deputies said the teens visited the home to ask if they could take homecoming pictures near a lake on the property.
“The boys parked at the home's gate, jumped the fence, and walked up the driveway to speak to the homeowner,” the sheriff’s office said. “No one appeared to be at the residence, so the boys walked around the property trying to locate a homeowner to no avail.”
Soon after the teens returned to their car to write a note requesting permission, Metz drove up to their vehicle at an angle that prevented them from leaving. The pair said Metz got out of his truck with a gun and fired one shot through their windshield, striking the 17-year-old in the face.
“The victims reported to police that after the shot, Metz exclaimed, ‘oh s**t, my gun went off’ and that Metz then attempted to render aid,” Jefferson County District Attorney Alexis King said in a statement Tuesday. “Based on the information available at this time, there is no evidence to support that Metz acted with extreme indifference.”
Deputies booked Metz into jail following the shooting, and an investigation is underway. He has a preliminary hearing scheduled for Oct. 10.
Metz was first elected to the Mountain View, a small Front Range community, town council in November 2023, with his term set to end in 2027.
The nonprofit Ballotpedia said Metz responded to its “Candidate Connection” survey ahead of the 2023 race. In his answers, Metz said he was “born in Texas, grew up in rural Wisconsin and [has lived] in Colorado since 2011.” He said he previously worked as a petroleum engineer, but shifted to the real estate industry during the COVID-19 pandemic.
