2nd arrest made in Philadelphia illegal car meetups as search for more than 100 people involved continues
Philadelphia police say they are looking for possibly more than 100 people who were involved in nearly a dozen illegal car meetups across the city over the weekend.
One of 11 car meetups over the weekend injured a police officer, sent a 17-year-old to the hospital, and caused more than 30,000 dollars worth of property damage.
During a press conference on Thursday, police said they've been able to make some progress, identifying 38 cars that could help them find the people they're looking for.
One of them was 25-year-old Deonte Vincent, who was arrested and facing multiple charges, including aggravated assault, recklessly endangering another person, fleeing police in a vehicle, an accident involving death/injury and more.
Police said this second arrest is just the tip of the iceberg.
According to investigators, the meetups are being arranged through social media, bringing people from outside of the state. The DA's office said its working with the Philadelphia Police Department and the mayor's office to ramp up their efforts and crackdown on the meetups officials say are putting the public at risk.
Police received a tip of an illegal car meetup, also called "drifting," at a Pep Boys auto shop parking lot near the 7400 block of Bustleton Avenue in Rhawnhurst last Saturday, Sept. 21, the DA's office said. When the police arrived, they said people started to leave in multiple directions but some officers were able to stop and detain some of the suspects.
According to prosecutors, Vincent, who was driving a blue Dodge Charger, sped toward officers, almost hitting them and ignored the officers' commands to stop. He then hit another car while exiting an alleyway and injured at least one person.
Before exiting, officers were able to get the license plate of the Dodge Charger linking Vincent to the car, the DA's office said.
"I want the individuals who wreaked havoc on our city's streets over this weekend -- many of you from outside of this city -- to know that we will find you and we will prosecute you," said Assistant District Attorney Kimberly Esack, Supervisor of the DAO's Carjacking Enforcement Unit, in the release. "The PPD, in collaboration with our office, are using every resource at our disposal to ensure that you are held accountable for your reckless, dangerous behavior."
Vincent is in custody with a bail of $1.5 million with a preliminary hearing scheduled for Friday, Oct. 11.
A viral video of the illegal car meetups over the weekend drew attention from the Republican House Judiciary Committee and Elon Musk causing a political discourse online.
Recently in August, two men were arrested when two police cars were damaged after responding to a car meetup in Frankford.
Philadelphia police said they will continue to monitor social media and review all videos available to them to help capture these people. They say this is just the beginning of what could be an exhaustive investigation.
Timeline of illegal car meetups
Philadelphia police released a timeline of seven out of 11 known illegal car meetups from Saturday, Sept. 21 to overnight Sunday, Sept. 22 from around 9:30 p.m. to around 4:33 a.m.
- The first incident was the meetup near Bustleton Avenue in Rhawnhurst that ended with Vincent's arrest.
- Incident 2: Over 100 cars reported drifting and driving recklessly near 20th Street and Pattison Avenue in South Philly around 11:47 p.m.
- Incident 3: An officer saw a silver Nissan doing donuts in the middle of the street and doing a 180-degree turn toward the police car in the area of Columbus Boulevard and Pattison Avenue in South Philly around midnight Sunday, according to the release from police. The officer was able to get out of the way and followed the Nissan until it hit a pole and came to a stop around 300 Pattison Avenue. Police said the officer approached the Nissan and four males ran from the car. The driver of the Nissan, Jhonny Martinez, 19, from Upper Darby was arrested and charged with recklessly endangering another person, according to the release.
- Incident 4: Officers responded to the area of 25th Street and Washington Avenue in Grays Ferry on reports of gunshots around 1:30 a.m. Sunday. A woman told police there were a lot of cars in the intersection when a woman and a man threw an orange traffic cone at her causing her to fall to the ground. During this incident, "a gunshot was heard from the direction of the cars in the street," police said. All the cars left the area.
- Incident 5: Police said there was a large group of people and cars being reckless and disorderly in the area of Marvine Street and Grange Avenue in Fern Rock around 2:25 a.m. Sunday. Officers were not able to diffuse the crowd and said they were briefly surrounded, causing a call for backup. The crowd eventually dispersed when there was a large police presence. There are no reports of injuries, arrests or property damage.
- Incident 6: More than 200 cars were drag racing and drifting in the area of Island and Bartram avenues in Southwest Philly around 4 a.m. Sunday, according to the release. Police said officers were attacked, a police car was damaged and the crowd diffused when additional police arrived.
- Incident 7: There were reports of over 100 cars drifting and people setting trash fires in the area of 15th and Market streets in Center City around 4:33 a.m. Sunday, police said. According to the release, officers were attacked, resulting in damage to multiple police cars including broken windshields and flattened tires.