CHATTANOOGA, Tenn.—A judge has set a January 2013 trial date for a man charged in the fatal shooting of a Chattanooga police officer.
Attorneys for 26-year-old Jesse Mathews are asking for a jury from outside Hamilton County due to publicity about the case, according to the Chattanooga Times Free Press ( ).
Mathews is charged with shooting police Sgt. Tim Chapin as the officer attempted to stop him from fleeing an April 2 pawn shop robbery.
Court records show Mathews had fled a Colorado halfway house after being accused of committing robberies. He traveled to Chattanooga with the help of his sister, Rachel Mathews; his mother, Kathleen Mathews; and father, Ray Vance Mathews. They have pleaded guilty and sentencing hearings are set Feb. 13 in federal court.
———
Information from: Chattanooga Times Free Press,
