Former Colorado councilman Brent Metz testifies in his defense, describes gun going off without "commanding it to"

On Friday afternoon Brent Metz, a former town of Mountain View councilman accused of recklessly shooting a 19-year-old in the face in front of his Colorado property, took the stand in his own defense.

The 19-year-old victim testified earlier in the week that he and his younger friend went to the property owned by Metz to ask for permission to take pictures at a scenic home on Metz's property near Conifer in September of 2024 when the incident occurred.

On the stand, Metz said that day started like any other weekday for him. He got his children ready for school and then took them to school. Then he returned home and did some work from his home office. He said he then made multiple visits to construction sites he oversaw. He says when he visited those sites, he carried a concealed gun with him by taking it from a locked safe in his home, putting it in a holster in his waistband, then putting it in a holster in his truck when got in that vehicle, as was his habit at the time.

He said on that day he was also getting ready to go on a bow hunting trip with a friend of his and needed some new clothes for that trip. He decided to go shopping at a hunting store in Golden with his gun concealed on him in a holster when outside of his truck and in his truck holster while driving, as ususal.

He said when he was on the way home his girlfriend called him saying a car was blocking their driveway. He said he told her to call the police and that he was on his way home. He said that's when he pulled up the images from his security camera on his phone and saw two people walking around his property.

He said when he drove up to his property, he attempted to speak with whoever may be in the car in front of his driveway when his gun misfired.

"I went to slide out of the vehicle. As I went to step down with my left foot the ground was not where I expected it to be. I momentarily lost my balance at the same point and time I felt the firearm discharge against my belly, and I did not command it to do so," said Metz.

Metz says at no time before the shooting was he angry or upset and never intended to have a confrontation with the occupants of the vehicle. He says the shooting has haunted him for nearly two years.

"I feel horrible that this happened to those two young men. This has torn me up every single day since this event and it's something that I will struggle with for the rest of my life," said Metz.

After Metz's testimony, the defense rested, and the jury was sent home for the weekend. Closing arguments in the trial are set to begin on Monday.