MOUNT LAUREL, N.J. – A man accused of harassing Black neighbors used a slingshot and ball bearings to cause more than $2,350 in damage to two vehicles at a condo complex, authorities say.
The allegations came Thursday as officials announced new charges against Edward Cagney Mathews, a 45-year-old white man whose racist behavior sparked a loud and long protest outside his home days earlier.
Mathews, previously accused of harassing Black neighbors, now is charged with offenses that include weapons and drug violations, criminal mischief and damaging the property of residents, said the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office.
Edward Cagney Mathews: White man who pushed Black neighbor in racist rant arrested after protesters show up at his home
Police found the slingshot and almost 50 ball bearings during a search of Mathews’ home at Essex Place Condominiums, the prosecutor’s office said.
It alleged the ball bearings “matched the projectiles used to damage the vehicles” of two female residents at Essex Place. Mathews “is also accused of stalking one of the vehicle owners,” the prosecutor’s office said.
Police also seized psilocybin mushrooms known for their hallucinogenic effect, along with packaging materials, the prosecutor’s office alleged in a statement. That led to charges of possessing a controlled dangerous substance and possession with the intent to distribute.
The search came after police obtained an “extreme risk protection order” against Mathews. The order, which prohibits its subject from possessing guns, was issued “based on the implied threat of the use of weapons Mathews made to neighbors,” the statement said.
The new charges against Mathews include possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and two counts of certain persons not to have a weapon, the prosecutor’s office said.
A previous conviction for burglary prohibits Mathews from legally possessing a weapon such as the slingshot, says a probable cause statement for his arrest.
Court records show at least a dozen convictions for Mathews dating to 1996, including sentences for impersonating a police officer, possessing a sawed-off shotgun and aggravated assault.
The new charges “underscore the importance of our community members coming
forward with any information they have about criminal activity,” said Mount Laurel Police Chief Stephen Riedener, whose department has faced criticism for its handling of repeated complaints against Mathews.
Mathews has been in Burlington County Jail since his arrest at his home Monday evening. A detention hearing is to be held next week, the prosecutor’s office said.
Mathews initially was arrested after two incidents July 2 in which he directed racial slurs and threatening language and gestures at neighbors, the prosecutor’s office said.
A cellphone recording of the second confrontation July 2 was widely viewed.
“Because someone recorded Mathews’ conduct on Friday night (July 2), we had the evidence to bring the previous charges, and the opportunity to gather the evidence that led to these additional charges,” Prosecutor Scott Coffina said Thursday.
Coffina noted Mount Laurel police had sought to keep Mathews in custody after his arrest July 2. But a municipal court judge released Mathews on his own recognizance, leading to Monday’s demonstration outside the suspect’s home. Mathews had given his address while being recorded July 2.
Mathews was arrested for a second time Monday after the prosecutor’s officer reviewed an additional video of the July 2 confrontation. That recording “showed Mathews bumped one of the victims with his chest and appeared to spit in his face,” the prosecutor’s office said.
Protesters hurled bottles and expletives as police removed Mathews from his home shortly after 7 p.m., then vandalized the suspect’s home.
A state judge on Monday ordered Mathews to be held in jail on three counts of harassment with the purpose to intimidate a person based on race.
Mathews was charged with two counts of harassment and one count of trespass, a disorderly persons offense, stemming from the July 2 confrontations, the prosecutor’s office said.
According to the prosecutor’s office, an investigation into Mathews’ actions began July 2 when a resident filed a harassment complaint against him.
A Mount Laurel police officer then responded a short time later to a nearby home, where Mathews was using racial slurs in a confrontation with four neighbors.
While demonstrators on Monday asserted Mathews should have been arrested immediately, the township police officer directed the suspect to go home “in an attempt to de-escalate the situation,” said the prosecutor’s office.
It noted Mathews was arrested later July 2 for both incidents.
Coffina welcomed the public’s help as his office looks into allegations against Mathews that date back to at least 2017.
“Our office will continue to investigate the previously reported complaints,” Coffina said.
This article originally appeared on Burlington County Times: New Jersey man accused of harassing Black neighbors faces new charges