Mount Laurel man pleads guilty in racial intimidation case caught on viral video
Edward C. Mathews, 47, faces an eight-year prison sentence under a plea deal arranged with the prosecutor’s office.
A Mount Laurel man whose racist 2021 rant against a Black neighbor was caught on a video that went viral has pleaded guilty to four counts of bias intimidation and a drug charge, Burlington County Prosecutor LaChia L. Bradshaw announced Wednesday.
Edward C. Mathews, 47, faces an eight-year prison sentence under a plea deal arranged with the prosecutor’s office, Bradshaw said at a news release.
His plea was entered Tuesday before Superior Court Judge Gerard H. Breland, who scheduled Mathews’ sentencing for Dec. 8.
The bias counts involve Mathews’ harassment of former neighbors, and the drug charge — possession of a controlled dangerous substance with intent to distribute — was filed after investigators searched his home and found numerous hallucinogenic mushrooms, Bradshaw said.
The case drew national attention after a July 2021 video of Mathews showed him taunting a Black neighbor and using racial slurs. He gave out the address for his residence and told people “to come see me.”
Hundreds showed up three days later for a protest. Mathews was taken into custody later that day. Four protesters were later charged in connection with attacks on police and damage to property.
Bradshaw said the investigation revealed a pattern of abuse from Mathews against his neighbors that included leaving a threatening note on one of their vehicles.
Mathews was indicted in early 2022.
A lawyer for Mathews could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
Mathews previously told The Inquirer that he was sorry for when happened and that his behavior stemmed from a long-running dispute with the homeowners’ association for Essex Place condominiums. He also said he was drunk at the time of the confrontation.