After feces-smeared note, man accused of racial harassment charged again, cops say – NJ.com

The man authorities say mounted a years-long campaign of racial harassment against neighbors in a Mount Laurel neighborhood, which reached a violent tipping point this summer ending with his arrest, has been charged with two additional crimes.

Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina on Tuesday announced bias intimidation and harassment charges against Edward Mathews, 45, related to a threatening note he allegedly left on a neighbor’s car in January.

An FBI analysis of the note found it was Mathews’ handwriting. Feces had be smeared on the vehicle too, the prosecutor said.

Coffina also announced criminal charges against four protesters who hurled objects or dangerous fluids during Mathews’ July 5 arrest, which capped a protest that that quickly grew in size at the Essex Place condo community.

The protest was spurred by a confrontation three days earlier of Mathews racially berating a neighbor who’d come to the aid of another neighbor. Cell phone footage of the interaction, during which Mathews repeatedly goads the man and chest bumps him, went viral online.

One of the charged protesters is Tawanda Jones, a well-known Camden woman who has worked with youth for years and was lauded for her accomplishments in 2014 by Oprah Winfrey, which came with a $25,000 award. She founded Camden Sophisticated Sisters and uses the structure of a drill team to “motivate, educate, discipline and empower” children in her program.

Jones was also named a CNN Hero in 2013.

Jones, 48, was at the protest and unleashed pepper spray on Mathews and police officers as they led him to a police car, authorities said. She is charged with aggravated assault on a police officer, weapon possession, simple assault and disorderly conduct.

Others charged are:

Daniel A. Harris, 25, of Beverly, who allegedly threw a brick-like object through a window at Mathews’ residence during the arrest. Authorities say Harris’ act was recorded on video in a news cast. He is charged with criminal mischief and disorderly conduct.

Christopher D. Staples, 21, of Pemberton, on criminal mischief and disorderly conduct for allegedly throwing rocks at the officers during the arrest. The rocks caused nearly $600 in damage to police vehicles, authorities said.

Khalil Wilson, 18, of Mount Laurel, for allegedly spitting toward police officers while standing on top of a vehicle. He is charged with throwing bodily fluids at police and disorderly conduct.

The four protesters were not arrested, but served their charges via paper summons, police said.

“The outrage sparked by Mathews’ conduct on the viral video does not give permission to anyone to commit unprovoked assaults upon police officers or acts of vandalism,” Coffina said in a statement. “These were blatant crimes, caught on video, and the individuals responsible must be held accountable, regardless of whether they were committed in the midst of a protest or at any other time.”

Meanwhile, Mathews, who remains jailed in Burlington County while awaiting trial, currently faces a total of 22 charges for his alleged actions targeting residents of color in his neighborhood. They range from bias intimidation and harassment to weapon possession, drug crimes and stalking.

During the protest and in the days after, residents complained that Mathews’ viral confrontation with the neighbor – an African immigrant serving in the U.S. Air Force – was nothing new, and they’d been complaining to and calling police since at least 2016.

Mount Laurel police said they indeed knew about Mathews for years, and several times brought charges and targeted him for investigation, but many of the cases later fell apart in court. One officer, police said, was so frustrated that he used his own private security camera to try and catch Mathews in the act.

Coffina’s office said it reviewed Mount Laurel police’s response to Mathews, and on Tuesday released a 24-page report detailing the findings.

It found no indication of favoritism shown toward Mathews (he’d bragged he knew police), nor that police failed to investigate or were dismissive to residents.

Coffi’s office, though, found Mount Laurel police viewed the complaints by Essex Place residents, “on a case-by-case basis, rather than taking a problem-oriented approach.”

“With a broader perspective on the situation in the community, [Mount Laurel police] might have been able to devise an effective solution and brought relief to the residents Mathews had victimized sooner than [his July 5 arrest],” Coffina’s office wrote in a press statement.

“We empathize with the residents of Essex Place who were on the receiving end of Mathews’ conduct,” Coffina said of the report. “No one should have to endure racial harassment anywhere, but especially not in their own neighborhood and even in their own home.”

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Kevin Shea may be reached at kshea@njadvancemedia.com.