Edward C Mathews, the New Jersey man who was captured in a viral video in 2021 harassing his Black neighbors and hurling racial epithets, has been sentenced to eight years in prison.

Sentenced

In October, Mathews, 47, pled guilty to four counts of bias intimidation and possession of a controlled dangerous substance with intent to distribute.

The charges stem from a July 2021 incident in which viral video showed him repeatedly calling his Black neighbors the N-word and another offensive slur outside a home in Mount Laurel, N.J.

“Our office is committed to combatting bias crimes and sending a clear message that such actions will not be tolerated in our community,” Burlington County Prosecutor LaChia L. Bradshaw said in a statement. “Nobody should have to endure what these victims experienced.”

Mathews had been terrorizing his Black neighbors

Before the viral incident, a neighbor filed a harassment complaint against Mathews with the Mount Laurel Police Department. That same day, police received a report about a man who needed to be removed from the area.

When officers arrived to the scene, they found Mathews “using racial slurs while engaged in a verbal altercation with four residents,” prosecutors said. During a search of Mathews’ home, police found numerous psilocin mushrooms, which are known for their hallucinogenic effect, according to prosecutors.

Bradshaw said Mathews had been terrorizing his Black neighbors long before the viral moment, including a time when he allegedly left a threatening note on one of their vehicles. He was also accused of stalking, smearing feces on his neighbors’ windows and damaging their cars, NBC Philadelphia reported.

According to a report by The Philadelphia Inquirer, Mathews apologized before his sentencing.

“Every saint has a past and every sinner has a future,” he told the judge, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer. “I want to commit to rebuild the community.”

Mathews must serve at least four years before he is eligible for parole, NBC reported.

Meet 6-year-old Declan Lopez, who is now a member of Mensa, which includes the smartest of the smartest with an IQ of 138, that’s Einstein level.

Declan Lopez is a genius

To put this in perspective, the highest average score for people under 64 years of age is 109.

The gifted kindergartener reads on a third or fourth grade level.

She is interested in physics particularly “the force in motion”, Lopez told ABC7.

Lopez goes to school in Dover, New Jersey where she is a shining star.

Her parents started noticing Lopez’s intelligence when she was 18 months old.

“We were on a trip in the airport, and she just started to count in Mandarin,” Declan’s mom Meachel Lopez told ABC7.

Declan’s parents make sure she’s involved in social activities like karate, soccer and music theory. The family is also exploring coding classes.

All in the family

On top of raising an exceptional daughter, there is strong evidence showing Lopez’s little brother Maddox is following in her footsteps.

The Lopez family said they might get a DNA test to see if this level of genius runs in their family.

Latrell Duncan, a high school basketball standout in New Jersey, was fatally shot shortly after leaving school.

Basketball Standout Latrell Duncan killed

According to reports, Latrell – a sophomore at East Orange Campus High School – was shot four times at around 3:15 PM near his H.S. He was rushed to University Hospital in Newark where died just before 4 p.m.

No arrests have been made in connection to the fatal shooting. Investigators, however, are looking for “a group of people and a vehicle seen in the area at the time of the shooting.”

“Targeted”

In an interview with the New York Times, Latrell’s aunt Marsha Douglas, told the outlet her nephew and his friends were approached by a group of men after leaving school. The group exchanged words and then eventually dispersed.

Latrell Duncan/Twitter

But minutes later, two people wearing ski masks and carrying a gun confronted the teenagers on a sidewalk, said Douglas, who heard the account from her nephew’s friends.

Latrell Duncan was well on his way

Duncan, a 6’1 point guard, was one of the top 10 basketball players in New Jersey. He scored 180 points last season as a freshman at East Orange Campus, helping the team to a 15-9 record in one of the most competitive conferences in the state.

His AAU team, Garden State Bounce, had described him as a “floor general, team captain, and the best point guard our program has seen.”

“He was an excellent teammate,” the team added in a social media post mourning his loss, “a great friend, and a coach’s ideal player.”

Loved ones and the community are reeling after Latrell’s murder

On Tuesday, grief counselors were sent to the 1,660-student high school campus, said Khalifah Shabazz, the district’s lawyer.

“He was a loved student,” Douglas, Latrell’s aunt said. “We’re just really saddened….He didn’t deserve this”

A GoFundMe for Duncan’s family has been set up.

Anyone with information is asked to call detectives at 877-TIPS-4EC or 1-877-847-7432.