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Prosecutors kept the focus on shell casings found at the crime scene Thursday for the second day of trial for a Lochbuie man accused of shooting an officer in the face in 2019.

The trial began Wednesday morning for Matthew Cotter, 21, before Weld Judge Vincente Vigil. Weld Chief Deputy District Attorney Micheal Pirraglia called many witnesses to the stand, trying to prove Cotter’s guilt on all charges for “intentionally and deliberately” shooting a Fort Lupton officer in the face.

This case dates back to Dec. 2, 2019, when five Fort Lupton officers responded to a house in the 200 block of Ponderosa Place after receiving information about a man with a gun outside. Alex Chavarria, Cotter’s ex-girlfriend, and her family called 911 after Cotter told her he would come to her house and kill himself.

Cotter had been drinking and driving the evening of the shooting. Megan O’Brien, one of Cotter’s defense attorneys, said he consumed an almost full bottle of gin. His friends and the Chavarria family were worried about his wellbeing after he sent several concerning messages. Alex believed Cotter would kill her if he showed up at their house, according to the family’s testimony.

Upon officers’ arrival, Cotter used a handgun to shoot Sgt. Christopher Pelton, seriously injuring him.

Cotter tried to flee the scene, but Fort Lupton Sgt. Jeremy Sagner, a patrol officer for the department in 2019, returned fire multiple times, striking Cotter three times in the back.

Thursday’s proceedings continued a main argument from the first day of Cotter’s trial: how many times Cotter fired his weapon at Pelton. Cotter’s defense attorneys, O’Brien and Ashley Sullivan, said evidence shows Cotter only fired his gun twice, with only one bullet striking the officer’s face.

However, Pirraglia’s witnesses said there were three rounds fired. Sagner testified he had 100% certainty three shots came from Cotter’s gun, which is heard on his body-camera footage. Sullivan questioned his testimony due to past remarks where he reported initially hearing one gunshot.

Sullivan stuck with the argument that two shots came from Cotter’s weapon and the rest of the gunfire came from Sagner’s weapon.

Pirraglia countered Sullivan’s assertion with two witnesses: Fort Lupton police officers Guadalupe Gallegos and Sgt. Katelyn Walker. Both women responded to the shooting and testified to hearing Cotter say he shot Pelton three times, which could also be heard on body-camera footage.

Larimer County Deputy Alexander Johnson, who worked for the Weld County Sheriff’s Office in 2019, said he heard the same statement from Cotter about firing three rounds.

On the witness stand, Walker and Gallegos discussed finding shell casings on the crime scene. Walker said she found several shell casings, while Gallegos found one, in the backyard of the Furt Lupton home. Both said they handed over the evidence to Deputy Kris Haffner at the Weld County Sheriff’s Office.

Gallegos’ body-camera footage backed up her testimony of handing over the shell casings to another agency’s officer.

More body-camera footage confirmed law enforcement testimonies. Pirraglia brought Frederick police officer Shawna Paintin to the stand to further confirm the officer’s handing over the evidence, again using body-camera footage.

Paintin could not remember the deputy’s identity who received the evidence, she said during cross-examination. Sullivan also confirmed that Paintin never witnessed the shooting.

Haffner briefly took the stand both days of trial to testify he received the two bags of evidence: one bag with multiple shell casings and another bag with one shell casing. He then reported giving the evidence to Johnson, who also collected Cotter’s Beretta 96 .40 caliber handgun.

Johnson’s pictures of the gun were displayed on the screen for the court. He said identifying features of the gun included a hole on the left side, a dent in the magazine and a dent in one bullet. The evidence also showed Cotter’s weapon had its safety off and the cartridge was loaded in the chamber.

During cross-examination, Johnson told the court the gun included one live round in the chamber and the magazine had seven rounds inside.

Within the two bags of rounds, Pirraglia began to question how many shell casings were found in each bag. Johnson said each bag had two separate types of shell casings, with one casing matching Cotter’s gun. The other bag had nine casings, according to his testimony, sparking a quick objection from the defense.

Pirraglia said the nine cases would be discussed at a later time. Johnson is subject to be recalled when the defense begins its direct examination of witnesses.

As part of the Critical Incident Response Team, Greeley Police Officer David Arpin responded to the Dec. 2 shooting to gather evidence. Eventually, the gun-involved evidence fell into his hands.

Arpin’s time on the stand consisted of multiple objections from the defense that led to side-bars as Pirraglia showed the pictures Arpin took of Cotter’s gun and Sagner’s rifle. Sagner’s two magazines included 14 rounds of ammunition and 30 rounds of ammunition, Arpin testified.

Arpin highlighted the immense difference between Cotter and Sagner’s bullets. Compared to Cotter’s bullets, Sagner’s were much larger with a smaller diameter, and would not be able to fit into a handgun.

Paintin’s body-camera footage also showed close-ups of the injuries to Pelton’s face. Cotter watched the video while wiping away tears.

Though mostly law enforcement testified Thursday, Pirraglia also called to the stand a doctor who treated Pelton after the shooting. Dr. Michael Makley, an expert in neurology and brain injury treatment, treated Pelton at Craig Hospital in Englewood.

Prior to Pelton’s arrival in Englewood, other doctors had reported his brain swelling was critical and they thought he was going to die, according to Makley.

Makley referred to Pelton’s case as “complex” and “severe.” He suffered from a traumatic brain injury that impaired him with concentration defects and mild anomia, difficulty in finding words. Pelton also suffered from an intensive skull fracture, a cerebrospinal fluid cranial leak and bone fractures in the face.

Arpin assisted with searching Cotter’s car, according to his testimony. Arpin took pictures showing no one tampered with the inside of the Cotter’s vehicle.

Arpin found a gun case inside the vehicle that matched the gun Cotter used. He also found a sticky note inside the gun case that read, “One in chamber.”

Arpin’s testimony will continue into day three of the trial, starting at 8:15 a.m. Friday.

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