A New Jersey man was sentenced to eight years in prison. The Friday sentence was handed down after he took a plea deal in October. He pleaded guilty to four counts of bias intimidation. The video of his rant against neighbors in Mount Laurel, the community they lived in, had gone viral more than two years ago.
Mount Laurel Police Department began an investigation on July 2, 2021, after a resident approached them to file a harassment complaint. A short time later, a police officer from the department responded to a home and reported that a man needed to be removed from the location.
Authorities said the officer found Edward Mathews using racial slurs against many of the community residents. The investigation also noted that there was a pattern of abuse from the 47-year-old resident against his neighbors. He reportedly left a threatening note on one vehicle belonging to his neighbors.
Mathews’s home was surrounded by protesters and he was taken into custody on July 5. He pleaded guilty to bias intimidation as well as to a drug offense after authorities found hallucinogenic mushrooms when they searched his home.
On Friday, after his sentencing, Mathews began sobbing in court, and he apologized for “his insensitive and disrespectful words” and more.
This was a racist incident in Mount Laurel, NJ. This POS name is Edward Cagney Matthews, he’s been harassing his Black neighbors for some time now, and ML police department refuses to do anything. pic.twitter.com/2uJYBQCNtR
— princess boba tea (@Deniciosoo) July 5, 2021
The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that Edward Cagney Mathews is mandated to serve four years of his eight-year prison term. He has already spent two and a half years in jail. He will be eligible for parole in 16 months. Judge Breland also ordered Mathews to undergo racial sensitivity training while in prison and to pay a fine of $4,408 in restitution.
In July 2021, Mathews went on a racially motivated rant against his black neighbor. He had also thrown out a challenge to neighbors in the Mount Laurel community “to come and see” him and gave them his address. He continued using racial slurs against several neighbors and had to be removed from the area.
After his rant went viral, his home was reportedly surrounded by hundreds of people. They called his name and asked for his arrest. The police investigation found that there were multiple complaints against him. The investigation noted that he had a pattern of harassment including racial slurs, putting feces on neighborhood homes, sending emails, and shooting their cars with BB pellets, according to authorities.
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