Colorado teen shot in face after trying to ask for permission to take homecoming photos at property, police say
A homeowner in Conifer is facing serious allegations of shooting a teenager through the windshield of a car parked on a road outside of the homeowner's Colorado property Tuesday.
The teenage boy was taken to the hospital where he remained Wednesday evening with serious injuries.
38-year-old Brent Metz, a town council member in tiny Mountain View in Jefferson County, is charged with first-degree assault, illegal discharge of a firearm and two counts each of felony menacing and reckless endangerment, both misdemeanors.
The 17-year-old and a 15-year-old friend had been on the homeowner's property seeking permission to take homecoming photos there.
The teenagers told deputies they stopped outside a property in the 23000 block of Pleasant Park Road around 4:15 p.m. on Tuesday.
They jumped over the fence and tried to locate the homeowner to ask if they could take high school homecoming photos at their property. When no one answered, they told authorities they walked to an outbuilding where they heard music and found no one. Some mountain residents with livestock leave music playing to scare away predators. When they couldn't find anyone, they assumed no one was home and returned to their car, the sheriff's office said.
Seeing the teenagers on cameras, one of the residents called law enforcement, saying the teens were trespassing. Jefferson County Sheriff's spokesperson Jacki Kelley says there was no indication from the caller that they were being robbed.
"We were headed up there on an unwanted party on their property," said Kelley.
Investigators say the teens shared that they were in their Audi parked along the road writing a note to the homeowners to ask for permission when a pickup driven by Metz pulled up at an angle, blocking their departure.
"In the process of writing that note, a truck pulled up next to them. An adult male got out, pointed a gun at the windshield of their car and fired the gun," said Kelley.
That person was identified by the sheriff's office as Metz. Investigators found the note the teens were writing in a school binder. They say Metz said nothing before firing.
"There was no conversation," said Kelley.
Metz did not explain why the teenager was shot to deputies but insisted on talking to a lawyer.
An arrest affidavit indicates that the 17-year-old victim says he did not think Metz shot him intentionally. His 15-year-old friend told authorities he heard the gun go off and saw the windshield glass shatter before he ducked down. He heard Metz say, "Oh s..., my gun went off."
The 15-year-old took off his shirt and ran around to his friend to render aid applying pressure to his friend's wounds. He told authorities Metz tried to assist in rendering aid, but he pushed him away and asked why he had shot his friend.
"There is nothing so far that we have learned that would cause us to believe that this was, that there was any intent to commit crimes that they were doing anything that would have been malicious or criminal other than stepping across their fence," said Kelley.
She pointed out that under Colorado law, it's not legal to use deadly force in defense of property unless there's reason to believe there will be harm to oneself or others.
Addressing a question about the charges against Metz if the gun went off accidentally, Kelley noted that Metz was not charged with attempted first-degree murder.
Metz was booked into the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office on a $5,000 bond.
"Our office requested a cash only bond, but the court gave Metz a PR bond," said a spokesperson for District Attorney Alexis King via email. That type of bond means the defendant's signature acts as the promise to appear in court. Metz bonded out Wednesday.
Metz was sworn in last year as a town council member in Mountain View. His term runs until 2027. Mountain View's mayor declined to comment, referring questions to the town administrator, who did not immediately respond.
Metz is due back in court Tuesday. He did not return a phone call from CBS Colorado asking about the incident.
