NJ man who made racist comments charged with stalking, drug violations
“Our office will continue to investigate the previously reported complaints lodged against Mr. Mathews," Prosecutor Scott Coffina said.
The New Jersey man who went viral earlier this week after his racist rant was caught on camera has been charged with stalking, damaging cars, and drug offenses.
Edward Cagney Mathews, 45, of Mount Laurel, has been hit with a slew of new charges, including criminal mischief, possession of a weapon (slingshot) for an unlawful purpose, possession of a controlled dangerous substance, stalking and possession of drug paraphernalia on Thursday, per NBC Philadelphia.
As previously reported by theGrio, Mathews went viral for all the wrong reasons after being caught on video going on a six-minute racist tirade against his Black neighbors. Now it appears his newfound notoriety has motivated prosecutors in New Jersey to take a second look at similar allegations from his past.
According to reports, the prior allegations against him include a 2016 confrontation with a Black woman named Jazmyn Jene.
Jene made claims that she and Mathews had a heated, racially charged exchange within the condo community where they both lived. She caught the interaction on camera. TMZ notes, “In the video, Mathews openly claims to have cops in his back pocket, and he’s giving Jazmyn 2 options: handle a dispute they were having cordially, or legally. He strongly suggests the legal route won’t work, because he’s so tight with cops … they wouldn’t do anything to him.”
Later in the video, when Jene accuses Mathews of using the n-word, he responds by clarifying that while he did use the racial epithet, it wasn’t weaponized in the way she’s suggesting.
Watch their encounter via the clip below.
As theGrio previously reported, police in Mt. Laurel, New Jersey, arrested Mathews after his racially charged interaction with neighbors on Friday led to a community showdown on Monday.
In video of the confrontation, Mathews repeatedly called a Black man a “monkey” and a “n****r” while appearing to spit in his face. When an officer arrived at the scene, Mathews told him he had no jurisdiction at his home, saying, “Go talk to these f**king n***ers.” When the officer tells Mathews to stop, he responds, “F**k you, go talk to the n***ers, and let ’em know what I’m all about and what f**king rights they have.”
A bystander filming the incident captured the moment Mathews announced his address, telling anyone who has a problem with him to pull up — and his wish was granted. Hundreds of people showed up at his home in protest for hours until police hauled Mathews away in handcuffs. He was initially charged with bias intimidation and harassment charges.
The newest charges announced were filed after police searched Mathews’ home, according to the report.
“They had seen videos that weren’t available to us on Friday night that were even worse than what we did have available to us on Friday night,” Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina said. “And the protesters had every right to be upset about that because this is despicable conduct.”
Matthews has allegedly been stalking and harassing Black people in the area for years and the police have refused to do anything about it. But once members of the #PullUp movement showed up to his home and showed out — while also putting the Mount Laurel Police department on blast for failing to protect the community — law officials decided to finally act.
“These new charges underscore the importance of our community members coming forward with any information they have about criminal activity, whether about this case or any other incident,” Mount Laurel Police Chief Stephen Riedener said. “Because someone recorded Mathews’ conduct on Friday night, we had the evidence to bring the previous charges, and the opportunity to gather the evidence that led to these additional charges, including for damage we allege he recently caused to his neighbors’ vehicles.”
The Prosecutor’s Office is reportedly conducting an independent review of the previous incidents involving Mathews that were reported to Mount Laurel Police but the department ignored the complaints.
“Our office will continue to investigate the previously reported complaints lodged against Mr. Mathews,” Prosecutor Coffina said. “We urge anyone with information and/or evidence of criminal conduct to contact us at tips@co.burlington.nj.us, or 609-265-5035.”
theGrio’s Blue Telusma contributed to this report.
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