The man, described by law enforcement as one of Southern California’s most prominent street racing influencers, was charged by Los Angeles County prosecutors with a 16-count conspiracy to organize a so-called “street takeover.”
Eric Romero Quintana, 22, pleaded not guilty to a brief court appearance Thursday in downtown L.A. He has faced at least 10 years in prison.
At one of these events, a 24-year-old girl passed away after she was bothered by a car spinning in the crowd.
Street racing events have long proven to be a deadly part of Southern California’s broader automotive culture. A Times investigation found that at least 179 people died in street racing-related incidents between 2000 and 2017.
In the takeover event, racers and spectators rush to the intersection to block traffic, but the driver performs stunts in a small space between the asphalt, which is sliding between the asphalt and the audience itself. Drivers often perform “burnout” or “doughnuts” and try to see how many times the car is rotated in circles or who can compete to compete and slide the stop closest to a stationary object without colliding with it.
The charges filed against Quintana represent a novel approach to targeting people involved in the non-driver racing scene. Sergeant. Arnold Castellanos, a member of LAPD’s Street Racing Task Force, said the first prosecution was a necessary step.
“Street takeovers have evolved much more than cars that have doughnuts. Over time, these auto clubs will “compete” with each other to see who has better drivers and can “bury” other drivers out of the pit,” Castellanos said. “This intensified the tension and led to the car club acting like a gang.”
Quintana will return to court in July. Each conspiracy number has a minimum sentence of 16 months.
Atty, Los Angeles County. Nathan Hochman said the charges against Quintana were the beginning of a wider effort to curb street racers. Hochmann pointed out that the acquisition could attract large, unruly crowds, which led to secondary crimes in the area where they were going. He pointed to the big mob who broke the path to Compton’s bakery after the acquisition last year and took it.
“People like Quintana are people who bring in street racers and audiences. They are responsible and accountable for crimes that are committed, like all the other participants in the plot,” Hochman said.
Quintana’s lawyer, Bert Caspero, said he was “confusing” by law enforcement’s approach to the case. He did not dispute that Quintana was behind the account or posted the location of the acquisition, but he said his client would not attend the event or drive in any of them. He compared it to the prosecutor to accusing a person who handed out flyers to the party where the crime was committed.
“It’s a bit overkill to target a guy who just announced where the meeting is,” he said.
Kaspero described his client as merely a “car enthusiast” and rejected the portrayal of police and prosecutors’ street takeover as a crime shelter.
“I think it’s safe to say that most people there are there for the sights,” Caspero said.
Hochman said it is impossible to argue that Kuntana didn’t know that something dangerous could happen at the acquisition event, as he was allegedly allegedly organised 15 additional acquisitions after the woman died of a Christmas Day event in which the woman posted the Hyde Park location.
Castellanos said that Quintana’s account matches the Instagram story “when posting it with a symbol or abbreviation, everyone can respond with flash mob fashion and overwhelm the place.” He said people like Quintana will use the “genocide” that takes place at acquisition events to gain online influence.
Castellanos said those taking part in the acquisition have a “Grand Theft Auto” mentality – calling out popular video game franchises that allow players to turn pixelated versions of Los Angeles, Miami and New York into violent, lawless playgrounds.
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