A car drives by a small group of flowers placed in front of U.S. Money Shops in Brainerd where police Sgt. James Timothy Chapin was killed Saturday after responding to an armed robbery.
Staff Photo by Jenna Walker/Chattanooga Times Free PressThe man in custody for the slaying of a Chattanooga police officer on Saturday has an extensive history of armed robberies, according to Colorado court records.
Police say Jesse Mathews, 25, shot and killed Sgt. Tim Chapin, 51, after attempting to rob the U.S. Money Shops store in Brainerd.
Erlanger hospital, where Mathews is receiving treatment for bullet wounds suffered in Saturday’s gun battle, would not release Mathews’ condition on Monday afternoon.
FACEBOOK photo – In a self-portrait from his Facebook page, Jesse R. Mathews, 25, displays his tattoos. Mathews was convicted of robbery in 2003 in El Paso County, Colo., and sentenced to 20 years in prison. He had a parole hearing scheduled in March, according to Colorado Department of Corrections records. He is listed in state records as a fugitive inmate and authorities say he is wanted on three robbery warrants. Mathews is the primary suspect in the 040211 shooting of 51-year-old Chattanooga Police Department Sgt. Tim Chapin.In a Facebook profile picture, Mathews’ bare chest is covered in tattoos depicting handguns, brass knuckles and cartridges. One arm shows a tattoo of an exposed bicep muscle dripping blood. Along his collarbone reads “Tools of the Trade.”
Mathews’ actual tools could have included 16 guns, according to an affidavit of arrest issued by the Colorado Springs Police Department in February.