Jesse Mathews is charged in the death of Sgt. Tim Chapin.The death-penalty trial for the man accused of killing a Chattanooga police officer has been set for 2013.
On Tuesday, Hamilton County Criminal Court Judge Barry Steelman set a date of Jan. 22, 2013, for the trial of 26-year-old Jesse Mathews.
Mathews faces the death penalty on charges that he killed Chattanooga police Sgt. Tim Chapin on April 2 during a botched robbery of U.S. Money Shops on Brainerd Road.
Steelman said the trial date should give both sides adequate time and avoid any rush to trial.
“It’s very important we don’t do that in a case where the death penalty is involved,” Steelman said.