Abusive NJ neighbor seen in viral racist rant sentenced to 8 years in prison

🔴 A white man was sentenced to eight years in prison

🔴 He repeatedly harassed his Black neighbors

🔴 The abuse sparked a protest outside his home

MOUNT LAUREL — A township man caught on video harassing his Black neighbors and hurling racial slurs at them has been sentenced to eight years in state prison.

Edward Mathews, 47, was sentenced on Friday, according to the Burlington County Prosecutor's Office.

Mathews pleaded guilty in October to four counts of fourth-degree bias intimidation for repeatedly harassing his neighbors for over a year.

Investigators also found hallucinogenic mushrooms in his home. He also pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree drug possession with intent to distribute.

Neighbor from hell

Authorities said that Mathews harassed his Black neighbors in the neighborhood along Coventry Way repeatedly.

Mathews fired two ball bearings at two vehicles belonging to one neighbor, causing $2,350 in damages, officials previously said. He was also accused of smearing fecal matter on another vehicle.

Investigators also found he had left a handwritten note threatening one of his neighbors.

“Nobody should have to endure what these victims experienced,” Burlington County Prosecutor LaChia Bradshaw said.

Mathews was arrested after he was captured on video yelling racial slurs including the n-word at his Black neighbors.

In the video taken on July 2, 2021, Mathews tells people watching to come to his home.

Days later, more than 100 people showed up for a rowdy protest.

Video shows protestors throwing drinks and water bottles at Mathews as police escorted him out of his house and took him into custody.

The Mount Laurel police said at the time that the video of Mathews' racist tirade gave them enough evidence to arrest him.

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