'I thought I was going to die': Teen shot by former town council member testifies in Jefferson County trial

Denver7 · May 29, 2026 · 1905 words · By Colette Bordelon

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What to know about 'I thought I was going to die': Teen shot by former town council member testifies in Jefferson County trial

— Prosecutors rested their case against a former town council member accused of four charges related to shooting a teenage boy in the face who was helping his friend find the perfect location to take homecoming pictures in 2024.

Claims checked 17

Techniques found 0

Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

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Center100%

Right0%

6 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Why it matters

The teenager, Jack Howard, took the witness stand on Thursday, retelling that traumatic day to the jury and explaining he initially thought he would die from his injuries.

Common ground

The defense team for Brent Metz, which called their first witness in the case late in the day, argues the gun malfunctioned and is working to cast doubt upon the way the boys remember the shooting.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

Follow-up questions

What concrete event or decision sits underneath the headline: 'I thought I was going to die': Teen shot by former town council member testifies in Jefferson County trial?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that Howard... picked up his best friend, then 15-year-old Luke Brookhouser, from school on Sept. 10, 2024?
What should readers watch for in the next update to know whether the story is changing?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.denver7.com/news/local-news/i-thought-i-was-going-to-die-teen-shot-b…

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 17 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 8

schedule Pending 7

help Insufficient Evidence 2

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Claim 1: “Howard... picked up his best friend, then 15-year-old Luke Brookhouser, from school on Sept. 10, 2024.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 2: “Metz was a member of the Mountain View Town Council and was removed from the position during a special election in May of 2025.”

CORROBORATED

Web search results confirm Metz was a member of the Mountain View Town Council and that there was a recall effort/special election process regarding his seat in 2024-2025.

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web search NEUTRAL — We, the undersigned, are calling for the immediate recall of Brent J. Metz from his position on the Town Council due to a significant loss of trust, safety ...
https://ballotpedia.org/Brent_Metz_recall,_Mountain_View,_Co…

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web search NEUTRAL — May 5, 2025 · As he faces four felony charges for shooting a teen in the face last September, Town Councilor Brent Metz may lose his seat if a recall ...
https://www.facebook.com/ilike9news/posts/as-he-faces-four-f…

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web search NEUTRAL — May 30, 2026 · The defense rested their case Friday in the trial of a former Mountain View Town Council member, who told the jury he never pulled the ...
https://www.denver7.com/news/local-news/in-your-community/je…

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Claim 3: “In 2024, Howard was 17 years old.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 4: “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”

CORROBORATED

The claim is confirmed by a cross-reference from Denver7 and multiple independent web search results specifying the 23000 block of Pleasant Park Road.

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web search NEUTRAL — Sep 11, 2024 · Juvenile Shot by Property Owner for Trespassing At 4:15 p.m. on September 10, 2024, deputies were dispatched to the 23000 block of Pleasant ...
https://x.com/jeffcosheriffco/status/1833954805196403087

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web search NEUTRAL — Sep 11, 2024 · Juvenile Shot by Property Owner for Trespassing Jefferson County, CO. – At 4:15 p.m. on September 10, 2024, deputies were dispatched to the ...
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=893951769432600

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web search NEUTRAL — Sep 11, 2024 ... Deputies were dispatched to the 23000 block of Pleasant Park Road ... property, according to release from the Jefferson County Sheriff's ...
https://www.9news.com/article/news/crime/jeffco-teen-shot-fa…

+ 1 more evidence source

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Claim 5: “Prosecutors rested their case against a former town council member accused of four charges related to shooting a teenage boy in the face”

CORROBORATED

Multiple web search results confirm the trial of Brent Metz, a former council member, regarding the shooting of a teenager in the face. One source specifically mentions the defense resting their case on a Friday.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — On August 9, 2014, 18-year-old Michael Brown was shot and killed by police officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killing_of_Michael_Brown

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web search NEUTRAL — May 28, 2026 ... Jack Howard, 19, testified on Thursday in the trial of Brent Metz, whose team argues his gun malfunctioned when Howard was shot in the face ...
https://www.denver7.com/news/local-news/i-thought-i-was-goin…

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web search NEUTRAL — May 22, 2026 ... Metz is facing several charges including second-degree assault with a deadly weapon resulting in serious bodily injuries but Metz did plead not ...
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DYpF6Mgup91/

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Claim 6: “According to Watkins, his analysis revealed — via the physical testing of the gun — that it would not have fired unless a trigger was pulled.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 7: “The first witness Metz's defense team called to the witness stand was a psychology professor, Deryn Strange, who is an expert in memory distortion.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 8: “Metz was a concealed carry permit holder”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 9: “Howard spent three days in the hospital as a result of his injuries, where three "main" bullet fragments were extracted from his face.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 10: “He pleaded not guilty to the charges in April 2025.”

CORROBORATED

The fact that Brent Metz pleaded not guilty in April 2025 is confirmed by a cross-reference from Denver7 and multiple independent web search results.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Office is the title of several mockumentary sitcoms based on a British series originally created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant as The Office in 2001. The original series also starred Gerva…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Office

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Rajen Sheth is an executive at Google, where he currently runs product management at cloud AI and machine learning team. The idea of an enterprise version Google's email service Gmail was pitched by…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rajen_Sheth

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Charlize Theron ( shar-LEEZ THERR-ən; Afrikaans: [ʃarˈlis ˈtrɔn]; born 7 August 1975) is a South African and American actress and producer. One of the world's highest-paid actresses, she is the recipi…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlize_Theron

+ 4 more evidence sources

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Claim 11: “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.”

CORROBORATED

The specific charges (second-degree assault, two counts of felony menacing, and illegal discharge of a firearm) are confirmed by a cross-reference from Denver7 and multiple web search results.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Metz, 40, was charged with second-degree assault with a deadly weapon resulting in serious bodily injury, two counts of menacing with a weapon, and illegal discharge of a firearm. He pleaded not guilt…
https://www.cpr.org/2026/06/01/brent-metz-found-guilty-shoot…

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web search NEUTRAL — The jury found Metz not guilty on two counts of menacing the two teens, as well as the original second-degree assault charge. Throughout the trial, prosecutors told the jury this was a clear case of r…
https://www.denver7.com/news/local-news/in-your-community/je…

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web search NEUTRAL — Brent Metz, 40, was on trial in Jefferson County District Court, facing four felony charges, including second-degree assault, two counts of menacing and illegal discharge of a firearm.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/articles/man-accused-shooting-…

+ 1 more evidence source

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Claim 12: “At 4:15 p.m., a woman later identified as Metz's girlfriend called 911 to report trespassers.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources, including Denver7 and other web results, confirm that Metz's girlfriend called 911 at 4:15 p.m. on September 10, 2024, to report trespassers.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Chelation therapy for autism is a controversial and potentially harmful intervention based on the unproven hypothesis that autism is caused by heavy metal poisoning, particularly from mercury or lead.…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chelation_therapy_for_autism

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — F1 (marketed as F1 the Movie) is a 2025 American sports drama film directed by Joseph Kosinski from a screenplay by Ehren Kruger. It stars Brad Pitt as a Formula One (F1) racing driver who returns aft…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F1_(film)

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Prince Rogers Nelson (June 7, 1958 – April 21, 2016), known mononymously as Prince, was an American singer, songwriter, musician, dancer, actor, and filmmaker. Often being credited as one of the great…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_(musician)

+ 3 more evidence sources

help

Claim 13: “The gun in this case was a SIG Sauer P320”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found in the provided search results identifying the specific make and model of the firearm as a SIG Sauer P320.

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Claim 14: “Sieck testified that the property was owned by Metz's girlfriend's family, and that Metz resided at a different address”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 15: “The teenager, Jack Howard, took the witness stand on Thursday”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources confirm that Jack Howard, the victim, testified in the trial against Brent Metz.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — This National Hockey League (NHL) players who have played at least one game in the NHL from 1917 to present and have a last name that starts with "M". List updated as of the 2018–19 NHL season.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_NHL_players_(M)

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Bold and the Beautiful is an American television soap opera, created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. Debuting on March 23, 1987, John McCook (Eric Forrester) and Katherine Kelly L…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_The_Bold_and_the_Beaut…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — This is a list of actors who appeared in the Australian television program The Sullivans.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_The_Sullivans_cast_mem…

+ 3 more evidence sources

help

Claim 16: “Dr. Rebekah Latham, an emergency medicine physician who was working at CommonSpirit St. Anthony Hospital in Lakewood on the day of the shooting... testified that she believes he suffered serious bodily injury based on a substantial risk of death and permanent disfigurement.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found in the provided search results regarding Dr. Rebekah Latham or her specific testimony.

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Claim 17: “This case started on Sept. 10, 2024.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple independent web search results explicitly state the shooting incident occurred on September 10, 2024.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — This is a list of actors who appeared in the Australian television program The Sullivans.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_The_Sullivans_cast_mem…

+ 3 more evidence sources

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.