47-year-old Edward Mathews, of Mount Laurel, New Jersey, had previously been caught on a recording using racial slurs against his Black neighbors. On Friday, he was formally given eight years in prison.
Back in October, the sentencing portion of the plea deal was made public, and Mathews had pled guilty to four counts of bias intimidation.
Mathews received backlash in his community over two years ago when a recording of his racist rant circulated social media.
On July 2, 2021, an investigation started after a resident went to the local police department to file a harassment complaint against Mathews.
Not long after that, officers responded to a residence because of a report of a man that had to be taken away from the location.
Police say that an officer learned that Mathews had been using racial slurs against multiple other residents, as well.
Additionally, prosecutors noted that there was a history of abuse from Mathews against his neighbors, including placing a threatening letter on one of their cars.
On July 5, Mathews was apprehended as many protestors stood outside of his residence.
In 2021, during an interview, Mathews stated that he had been drunk during the time of the occurrence.
Along with his other guilty pleas, prosecutors say that Mathews also pled guilty to a drug offense. That charge was filed after hallucinogenic mushrooms were discovered during a search of his residence.
