Man gets life for killing San Marcos police officer
A judge Thursday sentenced a Hays County man to life in prison after a jury found him guilty of killing a San Marcos police officer in 2017.
Jurors convicted Stewart Thomas Mettz, 57, on a charge of capital murder in the fatal shooting of San Marcos officer Ken Copeland. District Court Judge Bruce Boyer handed down the life sentence, with no possibility of parole.
Copeland was one of several officers who went to Mettz’s San Marcos home Dec. 4, 2017, to serve an arrest warrant. When officers knocked on his door, officials say, Mettz opened the door and began shooting. Copeland was struck twice and died at a local hospital.
Copeland was the first officer in the history of the San Marcos Police Department to be killed in the line of duty.
Copeland was a military veteran and had four children, according to the Hays County District Attorney’s Office, which described Copeland as “a beloved and admired officer.”
“We want to thank the jury and the court for the hard work of bringing this case to a just resolution,” Hays County District Attorney Kelly Higgins said in a written statement. “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.”
Assistant District Attorney Allison Buess, one of the prosecutors, said: “It was an honor to be part of the team that was able to get justice for Ken.”
San Marcos police officials said officers had gone to Mettz’s home in the El Camino Real subdivision to serve arrest warrants for charges of assault causing bodily injury of a family member and injury to an elderly person.
Police said Mettz waited in an “ambush-type situation” and began firing after officers knocked on his door.