Mettz sentenced to life without parole for death of SMPD officer

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“Every person, from the moment he pulled that trigger, has bent over backwards to make sure that [Mettz’s] rights are protected. And I’m going to ask you to do the same thing because you’ve taken an oath … So, protect Mr. Mettz’s rights, but make no mistake. We’ve met our burden. It’s an easy case.” - ADA Allison Buess

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KENNETH COPELAND[/caption]

SAN MARCOS — San Marcos Police Officer Kenneth Copeland woke up on the morning of Dec. 4, 2017, with a plan to work despite it being his day off. The department was understaffed and he, being a diligent SMPD officer who loved his job of 19 years, chose to aid in a time of need. Later that afternoon, Copeland would serve his last call at the hands of a killer.

That day, Copeland, 58, and fellow officer Matthew Daenzer were delivering two warrants — for assault- family violence and injury to the elderly — to then-51-year-old Stewart Mettz in San Marcos' El Camino Real subdivision. After answering the door, Mettz proceeded to shoot Copeland at point blank range three times and attempted to shoot Daenzer, as well. Copeland later succumbed to his injuries, while a stand-off occurred at the home. Eventually, Mettz surrendered to the police. He sustained one gunshot and made a full recovery. His trial began on Jan. 8, 2024. Following two days of testimony, the jury declared him guilty on Jan. 11.

Mettz was charged with capital murder — an inevitable charge when accused of killing a peace officer — the same day of the shooting and held without bond. In Texas, there are multiple options when delegating the punishment of capital murder, according to the Texas Penal Code: life in prison without parole, when the state does not seek the death penalty; or death or life in prison without parole, when the state seeks the death penalty. Punishments may differ when the charged individual is below the age of 18.

In this case, the state opted to waive the death penalty for Mettz. Although the reason has not been stated, Texas Department of Criminal Justice data revealed that this is common practice in Hays County. The website indicated that in the past 46 years, only one individual has been sentenced to death — Willie Jenkins, for the 1975 murder and sexual assault of a 20-year-old.

Following the guilty verdict, 22nd Judicial District Judge Bruce Boyer sentenced Mettz to life in prison without parole.

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During witness testimonies, the state brought in several SMPD staff members to recall the events of the day, the first being former sergeant Carl Spriegel, who was working as a hostage negotiator that day.

Spriegel responded to the scene at approximately 2:40-2:50 p.m. on Dec. 4, 2017, with SWAT after calls of “shots fired” and “officer down” were spread across the department. He recalled to Assistant District Attorney Katie Arnold that when he arrived, there were a number of officers and both marked and unmarked police vehicles at the address. After setting up a command post, which allows the responding teams to have a central location to discuss the situation at hand, Spriegel “somehow” came to find himself with the phone of Mett’z wife, who had been texting him during the stand-off.

“Tell the police to let me bleed outside,” Mettz said.

“Bleed out,” a correction to the previous message.

“I am going to die, tell them to let me bleed out. Tired of this [post-traumatic stress disorder],” read one message.

“Going to die. Cop is dead,” said another.

These messages were shared while his wife begged him to come out of the house. Unbeknownst to them at the time, Mettz was inside a house filled with guns of all calibers.

Spriegel noted that the messages, along with others that were worried about his loose dog outside, were concerning as they set up a narrative that Mettz wouldn’t survive the situation. His experience allowed him to know that there needed to be a relationship, or some sort of trust, built between them to entice Mettz to listen to him. Eventually, Spriegel stated that he attempted to empathize with him through the military, as he had a father who served. Mettz is a veteran and, according to his text messages, suffered from PTSD. The negotiator instructed Mettz on how to safely exit the house, where he was detained by officers.

While on the phone with Mettz, the officer stated that he was “unusually calm” and admitted to shooting Copeland; though, there is no recording as Spriegel was not wearing a body camera — something the defense questioned when he made this allegation. According to the former SMPD employee, he had a loaner vehicle and, therefore, did not have the normal items that would typically be in his car.

Another witness was crime scene investigator Tracy Engler, who worked the scene that evening. According to her, it was a very large scene and required help from the Hays County Sheriff’s Office, as her department was quite small at the time. Engler was brought on to confirm evidence markers in crime scene photographs.

Prior to her taking the stand, defense attorney Jon Evans objected to more than 20 of the photos, citing that many of them were photos of guns that had no connection to the investigation. Assistant District Attorney Allison Buess countered that it showed the jurors the expansive knowledge and background that Mettz had with guns. She also noted that there was blood on a rifle in one of the photos, indicating that it was picked up after Mettz had been shot.

Judge Boyer sustained some, but not all, of the defense's objections.

The array of photos began outside of the house, depicting the once picturesque house, now marked with bullet casings and blood. One picture was of the pool of blood left by Copeland on the front porch area of the house and more displayed copper fragments throughout the property.

Inside, photos allowed jurors to envision the scene as they moved through the house following a trail of blood, leading to a back bedroom, where blood-smeared gray pants lay and an automatic rifle was set up.

Throughout the house, photos displayed military memorabilia, a Lone Star beer can seemingly with blood on top, numerous guns — including a Benjamin air rifle — and bullet boxes. There was also a smaller handgun that, according to Engler, had 20 rounds when collected — one in the chamber, ready to fire and 19 in the magazine, with bullets that were “visually similar” to the casing found outside the home.

A map was then put on the screen that displayed a yellow box with a number further down the street. When the marker was eventually shown, it was near a blue piece of fabric with blood and next to a military style backpack that is typically used to administer medical treatment, said Engler.

Other witnesses included various individuals who were present at the scene, which the defense cross-examined.

Later that day, the state rested, while the defense rested the following morning without Mettz taking the stand.

On the final day, the court room was packed, with Mettz’s daughter and a few others on his side and a multitude of individuals overflowing the benches on the state side.

Prior to closing statements, in the spur of the moment, Mettz requested to represent himself in the case, but retain Evans as counsel. Judge Boyer immediately informed Mettz that he has displayed no indication that he could follow the rules; therefore, he cannot allow self-representation.

“The only reason I want to [represent myself] is because I don’t want this to happen again,” implored Mettz. “[These people] deserve better. They deserve that; your officers, the civilians and the disabled veterans of the United State of America. And I will not tolerate this happening again. Ken deserves better.”

Those sitting in the audience appeared stunned at the sudden outburst. Prior to this, Mettz had remained virtually silent.

Following this was another failed attempt to represent himself, after which he ultimately decided to continue to let Evans proceed as lead attorney.

Ready to proceed, Judge Boyer read out a document that detailed the charge once more and how the jurors were expected to reach a verdict. According to the document, Mettz could only be found guilty, if he met the following criteria:

1. The defendant knowingly or intentionally causes the death of an individual

2. That individual is a peace officer

3. That individual was acting in official duty of a peace officer

4. The defendant knowingly or intentionally causes the death of a peace officer

If the jury has any reason to assume reasonable doubt, the jury must find the defendant not guilty.

The state then began its closing statements, presented by ADA Arnold, citing an earlier text message from Mettz, which indicated that he knew the police were there for the warrant for his arrest, stating “should not try to take my freedom over your word.”

She continued by stating that this is not a difficult case, in terms of evidence, because the jurors “actually saw the murder of Ken Copeland and [they] saw that murder at the hands of Stewart Mettz.”

The defense followed by beginning with a common feeling that each person feels when a police officer pulls up behind them, whether they know why or not: adrenaline. After, he asked the jurors several questions:

• Evans noted that studies show that it takes 48-72 hours for a brain to fully recover after a traumatic event, which is why formal statements are typically taken after. He posed the question: Was Mettz acting accordingly, with his full cognitive skills, after opening the front door? Was it intentional?

• He continued to bring up other characteristics of Mettz, such as working the night shift, a CPAP machine pictured on a nightstand in his home, the mention of PTSD in his text messages to his wife, a “DV” on the license plate and the numerous military decorations in the home: “If you want to make inferences, you can.”

• As Mettz is an avid gun owner, the attorney made clear that Texas is a pro-gun state, so it is not illegal to have one and that the bodycam footage, from both Copeland and Daenzer, do not allow the audience to know when Daenzer pulled his gun.

• Evans made several comments after knocking on the panels in front of the jurors. Asking whether they believe Mettz heard the knock knock knock on his door and thought, “By God, today, December 4, 2017, is the day I’m going to kill a police officer.”

After, the state proceeded with its burden of proof. In court, the defense has no obligation to prove anything; therefore, Mettz’s attorney did not attempt to do so.

“Every person, from the moment he pulled that trigger, has bent over backwards to make sure that [Mettz’s] rights are protected. And I’m going to ask you to do the same thing because you’ve taken an oath … So, protect Mr. Mettz’s rights, but make no mistake. We’ve met our burden. It’s an easy case,” said ADA Buess.

ADA Buess opted to present their proof by organizing it into the criteria that Judge Boyer had previously noted had to be met in order to find Mettz guilty.

1. The defendant knowingly or intentionally causes the death of an individual

• Buess began this portion by relaying to the jury that premeditation is not needed to prove guilt, just that there was intent and that intent can form in a matter of seconds. She stated that it does not matter when the intent started, whether it was that morning or seconds after he opened the door, it’s the fact that it was there at all. To further prove this, there was a still from the bodycam footage projected onto the screen. The photo showed Mettz looking down at the gun in his hand moments before he shoots Copeland. She states that that moment is when the intent forms because right after he takes a “shooter stance” with the gun. Buess also noted the numerous firearms previously shown in the crime scene photos, emphasizing that this isn’t to chastise Mettz for owning guns because he is probably just “a good ol'e Texas boy,” but that it showed his understanding of guns and that he would have the knowledge to safely operate a gun — further proving that his decision to shoot and kill Copeland was a choice.

2. That individual is a peace officer

• Copeland was in uniform and there were marked vehicles outside of the home at the time of the encounter. Buess stated that this was “obvious to anybody who is not blind and we know the defendant is not blind because he’s sure able to shoot on target.”

• There were witnesses who work at SMPD that stated Copeland was an officer and they have worked with him.

3. That individual was acting in official duty of a peace officer

• Copeland and Daenzer were at Mettz’s home to deliver two warrants.

4. The defendant knowingly or intentionally causes the death of a peace officer

• Referencing the conscious thought process that defense counsel mentioned, Buess noted that Mettz is a military man, who is trained to shoot at center mass — the center of the chest or torso — to increase hit probability, yet not a single bullet hit near Copeland’s vest. Copeland was shot in his head, near his neck and, after he fell, his hip. “Why did he do that? Because Ken Copeland was a cop and he was wearing his vest,” said Buess.

• Mettz also previously texted his wife that he is going to die because a “cop” is dead. Buess continued by stating that when that message was sent, Copeland was being transported to the hospital, yet Mettz already knew he was dead.

Prior to the jury leaving the room for deliberations, Buess said that “we’ve waited six years [for justice]. We’ll wait as long as it takes.”

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Less than an hour after its release, the jury finalized its verdict. Deep intakes of air were heard as Judge Boyer read the word: guilty.

As Boyer stated that Mettz will serve life in prison, without the possibility of parole, his daughter could be heard sobbing.

Those on the benches clapped after Mettz was escorted out of court.

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Copeland was the first officer killed in the line of duty at SMPD. He left behind four children, two sets of twins, then aged 10 and 14, and a wife. His sacrifice touched many, as his motorcade led to drivers pulling over to bow their head in respect. Later, just three years after his murder, San Marcos City Council renamed El Camino Real Park to the Kenneth M. Copeland Memorial Park, an homage to the fallen officer. According to the city, the park is where his brothers in blue learned of his death.

“We want to thank the jury and the court for the hard work of bringing this case to a just resolution. We also want to commend the San Marcos Police Department and the other local law enforcement agencies for their dedication, professionalism and patience in bringing Ken Copeland’s murderer to justice. We are very grateful for the county’s constables, whose work ensured that a jury was available for this trial. Lastly, I want to recognize the professionalism and hard work of Allison Buess and Katie Arnold and the staff of our office for presenting the case on behalf of the county, the state and all the people affected by the loss of Ken Copeland, a beloved and admired officer,” said Hays County District Attorney Kelly Higgins in a press release.

Many of Copeland’s loved ones took the opportunity to speak after the verdict was announced. His wife, Sheila Copeland, was not in the room, but wrote a letter.

Beginning with, “On December 4, 2017, a coward murdered [Copeland],” her letter told of his love of his children and described how they were his world. She stated that there will never be closure, but there is solace in knowing that the best parts of Copeland will live on in his boys, through their smiles, their actions and their hearts.