New Jersey man who yelled racial slurs and spat on his black neighbor is sentenced to eight years in prison after video of abusive rant went viral
A white New Jersey man cried in court Friday after being sentenced to eight years in prison for racially abusing his black neighbors.
Edward Mathews, 47, went viral in July 2021 when he was seen hurling racist abuse at a Black neighbor and spitting on him.
It later emerged that Mathews had spent years terrorizing black people living in the Essex Palace condominium in Mount Laurel, 17 miles east of Philadelphia.
Victims told how Mathews had fired BB pellets at their cars, called them “monkeys”, placed feces on their property and sent them threatening emails and letters.
On Friday, a handcuffed and handcuffed Mathews, wearing an orange prison jumpsuit, apologized for “my insensitive and disrespectful words in the past.” Philadelphia researcher reported.
Edward Mathews, now 47, was seen in July 2021 standing in front of a Black neighbor – spitting on him, calling him the n-word and a “monkey”, and saying he was “from Africa”, during a confrontation outside his Mount Laurel, New Jersey home
Mathews had been a source of concern in the community for years
He expressed regret that his actions destroyed his marriage and hurt his family, saying his wife had filed for divorce and sold their townhome.
Mathews' ex-wife, Shannon Schwartzhoff, told DailyMail.com in 2021 that he was not a racist, saying, “A lot of his best friends are black.”
Schwartzhoff blamed his racist outburst on his alcohol consumption.
“He was drunk,” she said. “And he has a lot of problems in the neighborhood with the homeowners association. Some money has gone missing and he's trying to stop it.'
Mathews was seen spitting on his black Air Force soldier neighbor, telling him he was from Africa and using the N-word.
Mathews, a construction foreman, has spent the past two and a half years in prison and has lost all his belongings, he said Friday.
“Every saint has a past and every sinner has a future,” he told the judge. 'I want to commit myself to rebuilding the community.'
Edward Mathews, now 47, was arrested shortly after the July 2021 incident and has been in jail since
Mathews was arrested and charged with bias intimidation and intimidation
Shannon Schwartzhoff, 51, who still owns a two-bedroom townhouse with her ex, admitted she was angry at Mathews over the incident but claimed he's not 'as bad as everyone thinks he is'
Assistant District Attorney Jamie Hutchinson read victim impact statements from four current or former residents of the Mount Laurel condominium association — the four, mostly in their 60s and 70s, were too concerned about retaliation to speak in court.
Former homeowners association president LeRon Brown, who is Black, and his wife, Denise, who is white, moved in 2021 after numerous arguments with Mathews.
The couple had lived there since the project opened in 2001.
“The actions of what he did will forever remain a nightmare of the fear and anxiety he caused me,” Denise Brown wrote in a statement.
'I'm constantly looking over my shoulder and don't trust anyone.'
Another black member of the homeowners association also moved after Mathews' assault.
Hutchinson also cited Mathews' extensive criminal record.
Since 1995, he has 11 drug convictions, which barred him from possessing weapons. Yet a slingshot and thirty ball-bearing rounds of ammunition were found in his home, plus hallucinogenic mushrooms.
Judge Gerard Breland ordered Mathews to pay $4,408 in restitution and undergo racial sensitivity training in jail, The Inquirer reported.
Mathews has been in custody since his arrest and is receiving credit for the 886 days he spent in jail.
He will be eligible for parole in about sixteen months.