Page J4, Friday, August 1, 1997

By Duane D. Stanford

Staff Writer

Supporters of convicted killer Mike Chapel are promising a bombshell when the former Gwinnett County cop finally gets a chance to persuade a judge to grant him a new trial. That chance now could come within weeks.

Gwinnett superior Court Judge Fred A. Bishop has signed an order allowing Washington defense attorney Randy Mott to handle Chapel’s appeal even though he’s not a member of the Georgia Bar. With that out of the way, a new trial hearing could be scheduled this summer.

Mott claims he and a former CIA agent have uncovered "startling" evidence that he says will get Chapel out of prison, where he is serving two consecutive life sentences plus five years.

Two years ago, a jury found Chapel guilty of luring 53-year-old Emogene Thompson to a Peachtree Industrial Boulevard muffler shop in 1993 and shooting the Sugar Hill woman to death, robbing her of $7,000.

In May, District Attorney Danny Porter questioned Mott’s qualifications and urged the judge to appoint Gwinnett attorneys for Chapel, despite Chapel’s claims that they are biased against him.

"Nobody was willing to take this case: nobody believed in Mike," the officer’s wife, Eren Chapel, said Thursday after learning of the judge’s decision to appoint Mott. "We don’t have a lot of money. He is working on donations only."

Mott was brought into the case by the National Police Defense Foundation, a fledgling nonprofit organization that defends officers accused of breaking laws and is raising money for Chapel’s defense.

Mott, who lives in Virginia, says Chapel was set up by police and prosecutors to hush him up because he had information about alleged corruption within the police department. But Mott says he is saving the best evidence of that for a court hearing.

"We’ll be very interested to see his new evidence," said Deputy Assistant District Attorney Tom Davis, who helped get the Chapel conviction.

Porter has said publicly that he thinks Mott and the foundation are taking advantage of the high-profile case for the donations.

"I can’t wait to see Porter’s reaction when all this comes crashing down around him," Eren Chapel said.