The mother of the man charged with killing Chattanooga Police Sgt. Tim Chapin was sentenced Monday to serve 30 years and six months in federal prison. 

Judge Sandy Mattice said the sentence for Kathleen Mathews, 57-year-old mother of Jesse Mathews, as a packed courtroom watched. 

Ray Mathews, 51-year-old father of Jesse Mathews, must serve 20 years and 10 months. Rachel Mathews, sister of Jesse Mathews, got 11 years and a month. David Poteete, boyfriend of Rachel Mathews, was sentenced to six years and 11 months after getting a sentence reduction for working closely with authorities.

Jesse Mathews is facing trial in January of 2013.  The state of Tennessee is seeking the death penalty.

All the defendants were ordered to pay a share of $27,447 that Jesse Mathews took in three armed robberies in Colorado shortly before coming to Chattanooga. They were of Walgreens, Cash of America and Karl's Jr. He had robbed a couple of the same stores before when he was 17. He got a 20-year sentence in those cases and served eight years before escaping from a halfway house. 

The courtroom was ringed by dozens of police officers and police academy recruits, and Chief Bobby Dodd sat on the front row near members of the Chapin family.

The attorney for Ms. Mathews said she did not plan to speak, but at one point in the hearing she rose to her feet and made a lengthy statement, including at one point turning towards the prosecutors.  

She said, "I signed on to harbor my son.  I did not agree that he could commit any criminal activity."

She said, "He betrayed me and other family members when he carried out the armed robbery of a Brainerd pawn shop last April and shot Sgt. Chapin."

Ms. Mathews said she had no knowledge that he was going to commit that robbery.  She denied that she and other family members had previously cased the pawn shop.  

She said, "I am very sorry about Sgt. Chapin.  He was doing his job."

But she said, "It's not fair that I be sentenced for his murder."  She said the judge was, "taking my life, my husband's life and my daughter's life."

Ms. Mathews said, "I would do anything for my children."

She added, "If you are going to kill my son, why are you going to kill me and the rest of my family."

Ms. Mathews said the FBI had vowed "to eradicate every member of the Mathews family from the planet."

She told the court, "My son's a f---up. He's done a lot of things. But he never lied to me" prior to the armed robbery in Brainerd last April 2.

She said she had no idea she and other family members could be facing such lengthy prison sentences. "Honestly, I thought harboring was like a small thing - a slap on the wrist."

Judge Mattice told her, "You make choices and you bear the consequences."

When Ms. Mathews sat down, prosecutor Steve Neff commented, "She's a better prosecutor of herself than I am. He called Ms. Mathews "an evil manipulator of other people."  

He said, "She still thinks she and her family are the victims, and that's an outrage."

He added, "What's not fair is that the mother and wife of Sgt. Chapin will never get to love and hug him again."

Prosecutor Neff said Ms. Mathews and other family members went to the same Brainerd pawn shop before the robbery and she made note of how the employees were armed.  

Noting that none of the family members were working, he said Ms. Mathews had counseled her son about robbing the Walmart in Ooltewah, saying it would be safer to rob a cashier rather than the office in the back.  

He said Ms. Mathews earlier was convicted in Florida along with one of her earlier husbands in connection with killing her former employer.

The prosecutor said the family was aware that Jesse Mathews said at one point, "I don't have anything to live for so I'm going to rob my way across America." 

He asked that the Mathews family members "be put as far away from one another as is humanly possible."

Anthony Martinez of the federal public defender's office said Ms. Mathews' parents abandoned her when she was very young and she was raised by a man who abused her physically and emotionally. He said she ran away when she was 16.

He said she was raped by six men at a Naval Air Station and no one was punished for it.

Ms. Mathews was in the Army from 1974-1977 and was honorably discharged. She had one child previously prior to meeting Ray Mathews and having three by him. The attorney said she considered him "a good husband and father" after several failed marriages.

He said they "showed unconditional love always to their children."

The attorney said son, Jesse, proved to be "a wayward child" who had attention deficit disorder and was bi-polar.

He said Ms. Mathews has a number of illnesses, including diabetes and renal failure, and almost died shortly after her arrest. 

Prosecutor Chris Poole recited how Jesse Mathews sought the help of his family after commiting the new robberies. He said he sent money and Rachel Mathews flew out and rode back with him on the bus. He said police entered the bus in Kansas City looking for another wanted person, and Mathews got rid of one of the 17 weapons he had stolen from a pawn shop then.

He said the parents had held for him a bullet-proof vest he wore at the time of the Brainerd holdup. And he said they tried to get rid of the remainder of the weapons, having Poteete take them to Middle Tennessee. Poteete threw them in a dumpster, but retrieved them and wiped off any fingerprints before giving them to law enforcement.

Attorney Lee Ortwein said Ray Mathews has "no prior criminal record whatsoever. He always held down a job and worked long hours."

He said he stated that "if he could have died in Sgt. Chapin's place, he gladly would have done so."

He said the family's goal "was to get him (Jesse) out of the country." He went to Nashville to head to Canada just before the Brainerd robbery, but for some reason returned to Chattanooga.

Attorney Aubrey Harper said Rachel Mathews had been "brainwashed" by her mother and was devoted to "big brother."

Prosecutor Poole said she was "more aligned with her mother and brother than her father." He said, "There are indications she has the same outlook as her mother and when you do you're a danger to the community."

Judge Mattice commented, "That's a scary thought."

Prosecutor Poole maintained that during the hearing Rachel Matthews was "mouthing off" to the wife of Sgt. Chapin. Ms. Matthews denied it and apologized to the Chapin family and local law enforcement.   

She told the family, "I understand your pain. I am so sorry for what happened. I am so sorry for any part I had."

Saying the Mathews family members are devoted to one another, she said, "You don't know us."

Rachel Mathews, who is 20, said of her mother that "I adore her with all my heart" and she said of her father he is "the best man I know."

She also called Poteete "a good man' and she turned to him and said, "I wanted to marry you."

She said, "I have lost everything I have ever loved." 

Poteete, reading a statement, said, "I am embarrassed and ashamed." He said, "Someone I loved asked for my help and I didn't think about the consequences. I should have done the right thing and I did not. The regret and the guilt and the remorse hangs around my neck like an anchor."

He said, "I have made a vow that I will not be back on this side of the law again." 

U.S. Attorney Bill Killian praised the "exceptional cooperation and hard work of the investigating agencies and  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Chris Poole and Steve Neff, that covered an extensive conspiracy to obstruct justice, provide firearms to a convicted felon to become accessories to a Hobbs Act armed robbery.  The investigation spanned thousands of miles and included multiple serious crimes.  The Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Chattanooga Police Department, and Hamilton County Sheriff Department exhibited the finest qualities of law enforcement in solving and achieving the convictions in these cases. The federal criminal system is intended to provide serious punishment to defendants like these for criminal acts of this nature. The sentences will not only punish the defendants, but deter others from considering similar criminal behavior."

As part of their plea agreement, the defendants stipulated to the following facts:

On January 22, 2011, Jesse Mathews (“Mathews”) robbed the Carl’s Jr. restaurant
in Colorado Springs, CO with a firearm. At the time Mathews robbed the Carl’s Jr.
it was engaged in and affected interstate commerce. He brandished the firearm
during this robbery.

On February 11, 2011, Mathews robbed the Cash America Pawn Store located in
Colorado Springs, CO with a firearm. Mathews took sixteen firearms, approximately
$15,000 in United States Currency, and jewelry worth approximately $40,000. At
the time Mathews robbed the Cash America Pawn Store it was engaged in and
affected interstate commerce. He brandished the firearm during this robbery.

On February 14, 2011, Jesse Mathews (“Mathews”) robbed the Walgreens drug store
in Colorado Springs, CO with a firearm. At the time Mathews robbed the Walgreens
it was engaged in and affected interstate commerce. He brandished the firearm
during this robbery.

At the time of the robberies, Mathews was in custody at a halfway house in Colorado
Springs. Mathews was on parole for a felony conviction of robbery for which he
served approximately eight years of a twenty year sentence.

Shortly after the robberies, Mathews absconded from the custody of the halfway
house in Colorado Springs, CO. Mathews wired money to his sister, Rachel
Mathews (“Rachel”), in order for her to buy a plane ticket to fly to meet him in
Colorado so she could help him escape. Rachel flew to Colorado that day. Mathews
informed Rachel that he committed the robberies and that he escaped from the
halfway house. Rachel, along with one of Mathews’ girlfriends, then aided Mathews
in evading law enforcement by moving with him from hotel room to hotel room,
providing him food, etc. Rachel bought bus tickets for her and Mathews who
traveled to Nashville, TN via bus. Rachel bought the tickets under false names.
James Poteete (“Poteete”) picked up Mathews and Rachel from the bus station.
Mathews paid Poteete $1,000 to drive him and Rachel to Asheville, NC. Poteete
was, at some point, made aware of the fact that Mathews had committed the
robberies in Colorado and was a fugitive from justice.

In Asheville, NC they met Mathews’ parents, Ray Mathews (“Ray”) and Kathleen
Mathews (“Kathleen”). On or about March 6, 2011, Mathews, Ray, and Kathleen
were seen by a witness moving into the Microtel Hotel in Chattanooga, TN.
Mathews introduced himself to a witness at the Microtel as “Kevin Moore.”
Kathleen also referred to her son, Mathews, as “Kevin Moore.” Mathews informed
Kathleen and Ray that he was a fugitive and that he had committed the robberies in
Colorado Springs. While at the Microtel, the Colorado Department of Corrections

(“CDOC”) called Kathleen and asked if she knew where her son, Mathews, was.
Kathleen told CDOC that she had not seen Mathews, but would ask him to call in
reference to guns. This was at least the second time that Kathleen lied to law
enforcement about Mathews’ whereabouts. She also lied to law enforcement in
Asheville, NC all the while knowing that Mathews was a fugitive who, with a
firearm, had robbed a business that affected interstate commerce.

On or about March 16, 2011, Kathleen and Ray moved into a house in Chattanooga.
Poteete drove down from his home in Antioch, TN, and he and Mathews helped
move Kathleen and Ray. Poteete has since admitted to ATF that one of the items he
moved was a bullet proof vest into Kathleen and Ray’s house, although Kathleen
never saw the vest. Mathews moved in with an employee of the Microtel
(“Girlfriend”) who knew him as “Kevin Moore.”

On or about March 27, 2011, Mathews and his Girlfriend went to the R.K. Shows
gun show at the National Guard Armory in Chattanooga. Mathews spoke to someone
there for about thirty minutes and then left. Mathews then called Ray and said “bring
the family collection.” Less than hour later Kathleen and Ray met Mathews and
Girlfriend at Girlfriend’s residence. Kathleen and Ray transferred between ten and
twelve firearms to Mathews. At the time they gave the firearms to Mathews, they
were aware he was a convicted felon. These firearms, also known as “the family
collection,” were some of the firearms Mathews stole in the robbery of the Pawn
Shop in Colorado Springs.

Mathews and Girlfriend took the firearms back to R.K. Shows gun show at the
Armory where Mathews traded three of the stolen firearms for an M-4 assault rifle.
ATF and FBI have since recovered these stolen firearms (those traded for the M-4).

On or about March 28, 2011, Ray and Kathleen drove Mathews to Nashville, TN.
According to Ray, they were supposed to drop Mathews off at the bus depot. Their
plan was for Mathews to travel to New York, NY to acquire false identification
which he would use to escape into Canada. For some reason, this plan never came
to fruition.

On or about March 29, 2011, Mathews was back in Chattanooga. Before Mathews
returned to Chattanooga he met Poteete. Poteete saw Mathews in possession of the
previously mentioned M-4 in a guitar case. Mathews resumed staying at the
Girlfriend’s house. Kathleen and Ray were aware that Mathews was back in
Chattanooga.

On April 2, 2011, a witness saw Mathews leaving Girlfriend’s house with the
previously mentioned guitar case. Mathews took Girlfriend’s car. Mathews told
Girlfriend that he was going to eat and then go to his parents’ house. Girlfriend
never saw Mathews in possession of a bullet proof vest as long as he stayed at her
house. Later that morning Mathews attempted to rob the US Money Shops located
at or near 5952 Brainerd Road. The Chattanooga Police Department arrived on the
scene and foiled the robbery. Mathews engaged the Chattanooga Police in a gun
battle in which Mathews killed Chattanooga Police Department Sergeant Tim

Chapin. CPD officers subdued Mathews who was wearing a bullet proof vest. CPD
recovered two firearms from Mathews. These two firearms were among those
Mathews stole from the pawn shop in Colorado Springs.

CPD located Girlfriend’s car on the scene of the robbery. Inside the car CPD found
the guitar case which contained the M-4 semi-automatic assault rifle.

Later that day law enforcement recovered among other things two more of the stolen
guns from Girlfriend’s house among Mathews’ things.

Early on April 3, 2011, law enforcement searched Kathleen’s and Ray’s house and
recovered ammunition. The ammunition was in the trunk of Kathleen’s and Ray’s
car and in a drawer in the house. Kathleen explained how some of the ammunition
ended up in the trunk of their car.

On or about April 4, 2011, Rachel and Poteete arrived at Kathleen’s and Ray’s house.
Kathleen gave Rachel and Poteete a key to a storage unit in Chattanooga and directed
them to go to the storage unit and get the firearms out of it. Rachel and Poteete did
as they were told and took out at least six firearms. Poteete took the six firearms to
his residence in Antioch, TN. Four of those firearms Mathews had stolen from the
pawn shop in Colorado.

On or about April 6, 2011, Rachel called Poteete and told him to get rid of the
firearms including the stolen firearms. Rachel used code to convey this message.
Poteete threw the firearms away. Kathleen then called Poteete and told him that ATF
and/or FBI knew he had the firearms and were coming to retrieve them. Poteete then
retrieved the firearms and wiped them down to conceal his fingerprints. ATF did
recover the firearms from Poteete.

ATF and FBI interviewed Kathleen, Rachel, Ray, and Poteete who all confessed. All
four admitted knowing that Mathews had robbed the pawn shop in Colorado as well
as that he was an escapee from the halfway house. They were also aware that he
robbed other businesses in Colorado. They admitted that they had this knowledge
and assisted Mathews in avoiding apprehension for these robberies and for his
escape. They admitted that they did they not tell law enforcement about Mathews’
location and his crimes, and they also actively hid this information from law
enforcement. Kathleen and Ray admitted to knowingly transferring and disposing
of firearms to Mathews whom they knew was a convicted felon. Kathleen further
admitted to possessing ammunition and firearms while in the Eastern District of
Tennessee. All four admitted to committing these offenses in the Eastern District of
Tennessee.

Prior to possessing the aforementioned firearms and ammunition Kathleen had at
least the following felony conviction: Voluntary Manslaughter.