JEFFERSON COUNTY, Colo. — The jury trial has started for a Conifer man accused of shooting a boy in the face after the two teens went onto — and then left — his property looking for a place to take homecoming pictures. Prosecutors are arguing this was clear assault and the defense blamed the firearm for malfunctioning.
Brent John Metz's trial started Wednesday morning in Jefferson County.
This case started on Sept. 10, 2024. The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office (JCSO) said two teens had trespassed on Metz's property, which is located along the 23000 block of Pleasant Park Road, as they searched for a place to take homecoming photos. At 4:15 p.m., a woman later identified as Metz's girlfriend called 911 to report trespassers, and then she called Metz.
When first responders arrived, they found two cars on the side of the road, and a 17-year-old who was bleeding from his face while another boy applied pressure to the wounds. Metz was nearby. JCSO said the injured teen told police that the two boys had been trying to find a place to take pictures and jumped the fence on the property to ask the homeowners for permission. However, they said nobody appeared home, so they walked back down the long driveway back to their car to write a note for the homeowners.
As they were doing that, Metz pulled up in a truck and fired one round through the other car's windshield, JCSO said. According to the affidavit, Metz tried to help after the shooting, but the uninjured teen pushed him away.
Metz was arrested and formally charged with second-degree assault (recklessly causing a serious bodily injury with a deadly weapon), two counts of felony menacing and illegal discharge of a firearm. All are felonies. He pleaded not guilty to the charges in April 2025.
The opening statements in his jury trial began on Wednesday morning.
Opening statements on Wednesday
Prosecutor Christopher Johnson began his opening statements by introducing the jury to the two teens at the center of this case. The 15-year-old and 17-year-old were lifelong friends. The 15-year-old had wanted to do something special for his girlfriend, and find a spot for homecoming photos. His friend had a new car, so they decided to scout out possible locations.
On Sept. 10, 2024, the boys went to Conifer and found a spot with a lake on private property, Johnson said. They walked down the driveway to find the owners to ask permission, but were unable to find anybody. They then left the property and went back to the 17-year-old's car, which he had parked along the public road.
“They picked the wrong house and they picked the wrong people," Johnson said. "Because as you’ll see, Mr. Metz and (his girlfriend) don’t like when there are kids on their property.”
Metz's girlfriend was not charged in this case, so Denver7 is not publishing her name.
Johnson said Metz was watching the kids on his property's surveillance cameras and that his girlfriend was watching from the road.
At the car, the 15-year-old began to write a letter to ask permission to take photos on the property. Metz's girlfriend, who had called 911 to report trespassing, told dispatch that Metz was five minutes away. The dispatcher advised both of them to not approach whoever was on their property until law enforcement arrived.
“If that had happened, none of you would be here," Johnson said to the jury, adding that instead of waiting, Metz and his girlfriend decided to "box in these boys" by parking Metz's truck in front of the 17-year-old's Audi.
Johnson said that Metz had a loaded 9mm handgun with a live round in the chamber on his person. As the 17-year-old opened the Audi's car door, Metz fired one shot through the windshield, the prosecutor said. The bullet entered the teen's nose and split into three pieces, including one piece that was lodged behind his left eyeball, Johnson said.
“Somehow, (he) survives this," the prosecutor said, and the boy was able to keep his eye after surgery.
Johnson said that Metz "came in hot" and knew who was on his property because of the surveillance videos. Rather than wait for a law enforcement officer, as dispatch had instructed, he decided he would “teach the boys a lesson,” the prosecutor said.
He told the jury that the defense would make three arguments during the trial: One, they will say it was a justified reaction. Two, they will try to discredit the two teenagers. And three, they will try to blame the gun.
Johnson asked the jurors to find Metz guilty on all four counts against him.
The defense then presented their opening statements to the jury.
A defense attorney said Metz's intent was never to assault or menace the boys.
Defense attorney David Jones said Metz and his girlfriend were returning from errands in separate cars when the girlfriend saw a car blocking their driveway and people walking around the property. She called Metz and then 911. The dispatcher advised them to not confront the people on the property.
But Metz instead blocked them in. Jones said Metz's plan was to park his truck in front of the stranger vehicle, and then get into his girlfriend's car and wait for police.
“Whenever he gets in and out of his truck, when he’s carrying his sidearm, he takes it from his truck holster and moves it to his hip holster as he’s getting out of his truck," Jones explained.
On this day, after he had parked in front of the teen's Audi, he grabbed his gun from the truck holster, moved it to his hip holster as he was getting out of the vehicle and went to step out. But his "foot didn't find the ground where he thought it would be," the defense attorney said.
"He loses his balance briefly and boom," Jones said. "This gun goes off. In his hand, without his intention and without his command, it went off.”
A local expert who has owned a gun shop for more than 25 years will testify, Jones said, and will explain that the type of firearm Metz had — a SIG Sauer P320 — was one of the only guns that can unintentionally fire in people's holsters sometimes. That expert, who also has more than a decade of experience in law enforcement, does not allow that firearm in his gun safety classes because he knows it is unsafe. In addition, a crime scene investigator at the shooting scene found that the empty shell casing for the single bullet Metz fired was stuck in the gun, Jones said.
Jones said the two boys were at the property for an innocent purpose, even if it was minor trespassing. Everybody in the courtroom should agree that they should not have been shot for their actions, he said. The defense does not believe they are liars, but they had been through a traumatic event, which can alter a person's memory, he said, and alluded to a few changes in the boys' stories to law enforcement. They will have an expert testify on human memory as well.
He gave some background on Metz: He had never committed a crime and was a respected member of the community. His whole life was built around gun safety and ownership, from his time in Eagle Scouts to his service in the U.S. Air Force. He has carried a concealed carry permit since he was 19 years old and has been professionally trained on firearm safety.
Jones asked the jury to find Metz not guilty on all counts, calling the incident an accidental discharge and not reckless conduct.
"Oh sh**, I shot a kid"
The first witness who testified in the trial was 17-year-old Luke Brookhouser, who was 15 at the time of the shooting. Brookhouser was one of the boys who encountered Metz in September 2024.
It was his lifelong friend who was shot in the face next to him while Brookhouser was writing a note they intended to leave for the homeowners, requesting to use their property for homecoming pictures.
That note was found in a cup holder of the car by investigators, which started with "hello homeowner, my name is Luke."
On the stand, Brookhouser told the jury that was "a very traumatic experience for the both of us," and that they do not talk about that day very often. He insisted that has not impacted his recollection of the shooting.
The teenager continued to state that he recalled Metz saying a few things after his friend was shot, including "oh sh**, I shot a kid," and "oh sh**, my gun went off." Brookhouser believed Metz said both of those things, while the defense tried to cast doubt upon the validity of the first statement about shooting a child.
Brookhouser added that he did not hear Metz apologize after the incident.
Next, prosecutors called a handful of law enforcement officials to the witness stand, while admitting evidence that included photographs from the scene and body-worn camera footage related to the investigation.
In one photograph, a bullet hole can be seen in the windshield of the teenager's car, directly above the steering wheel — where the head of a driver would normally be.
Photographs also showed blood running down the door jam of the driver side door, and bloody towels and a water bottle right outside of the car.
Inside of the truck that Metz was driving, a handgun was found on the center console. In total, four firearms were recovered from the truck.
In the body-worn camera footage that was played for the jury, the teenager who was shot in the face can be seen with blood running down his face as he answered questions from investigators.
“We were waiting for him, to ask him, and then he got out of his car and shot," said the boy who was shot when describing what happened.
“I was writing a letter to ask him if we could take photos on his property," Brookhouser said.
In addition, the jury saw photographs of the teenager's injuries following the shooting.
The trial continues on Thursday morning, and Denver7 will be in the courtroom.
