cwaldt

iTrader: (4)

Police sting puts brakes on I-485 racing
11 people arrested, 17 cars confiscated
DÁNICA COTO
dcoto@charlotteobserver.com
Slideshow | Cars seized, racers arrested
Drivers who reached speeds of 165 mph on Interstate 485 were among those targeted by police this weekend in an ongoing crackdown against street racers in Mecklenburg County.

After four months of surveillance, authorities on Sunday arrested 11 people and seized 17 souped-up cars. They began investigating after receiving complaints of more than 100 people gathering Saturday nights at the Stonecrest at Piper Glen shopping center in south Charlotte.

People would meet in the parking lot and then race on the outerbelt or Rea Road, police said.

"It's easy to say that speed kills, but these folks haven't realized that," said Maj. Dale Greene, who oversees Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department's special operations unit.

The sting was called "Enjoy the Show" because big crowds gathered to watch the street racers, Greene said. It's a growing problem, with several Web sites promoting the next race, he added. Spontaneous racing also has become popular, with cars slowing to 35 mph on a highway and then racing to the next exit when someone blows a car horn three times, he said.

Most racers are men in their late teens to early 30s, police said. Those arrested early Sunday live in Charlotte, Kannapolis and Monroe and are between the ages of 18 and 22, along with one 31-year-old man who police said likely organized races.

They all face several misdemeanor charges of reckless driving and prearranged speed competition. Their cars, some valued at up to $40,000, likely will be sold at a public auction, police said.

On Sunday, officers seized several Ford Mustangs, Honda Civics, Acuras and Mitsubishis. Many had new engines and transmissions, and their owners had stripped the seats, radios and air conditioners so the cars could go faster, an undercover CMPD officer who didn't want to be identified told the Observer. One Mustang had a racing engine in it, police said.

DMV officials claimed at least six of the 17 cars because they think some of the cars contained stolen parts.

Michael King, 20, who faces one charge of prearranged speed competition and two charges of reckless driving, said he's never raced. But he added that he bought his 1994 Mustang two years ago and souped it up to make the engine sound bigger.

King said he started hanging out at Stonecrest about two years ago because of the big parking lot and the number of people showing off their cars.

"I might play around and spin a tire," he said.

About four years ago, racers in Mecklenburg County would congregate at a Home Depot along Providence Road near Ballantyne until officers ran them off. Now they've chosen Stonecrest, probably because it's close to several interstates and has a large parking lot, police said. Crosland, the company that manages Stonecrest, allowed people to gather in the parking lot so police could investigate, authorities said.

In the past two months, authorities also have arrested eight people and seized eight cars as part of the sting.

More than 70 officers with CMPD, the N.C. Highway Patrol and the N.C. Division of Motor Vehicles were part of the sting. At least 60 warrants are still pending, and more car seizures are expected, Greene said.

Racers still meet at other south Charlotte shopping centers, Greene said, and police will target those in upcoming months.

Among Those Arrested Sunday

• Brian Kanabroski, 31, of Charlotte.

• José P. Hernández, 22, of Charlotte.

• Jorge Alfonso Maldonado, 21, of Monroe.

• Michael King, 20, of Kannapolis.

• Emanuel Fakhori, 20, of Charlotte.

• James Ivey, 19, of Kannapolis.

• Thomas Blakney, 19, of Kannapolis.

• Timothy Roberts, 19, of Charlotte.

• Michael Clontz, 19, of Monroe.

• Vincent Aupied, 18, of Charlotte.

Link to see cars http://www.charlotte.com/multimedia/...106/index.html

burnzilla

iTrader: (3)

Expect to see alot more of this kind of thing.

Alot of people expect that they will have a chance to get away, but the cops do a good job at setting up a paremeter, and using the element of surprise to catch everyone off guard.

The police will not chase after high performance cars one by one, its a threat to public safety and an idiotic idea.
So if you think your badass trying to get away, think of what an accident at 100 mph will do, and how smart it really is.... its not.

If your involved in something like this and attend meet and greets, it would be wise to make sure the surrounding cars/buildings etc are not housing undercover's.
Remember, they can take surveillence from a great distance and im sure there are undercover police even attending some of these meets, so becareful what you wish for, and on nights you don't plan to race, ride with a friend.

cwaldt

iTrader: (4)

I think its great. They get what they deserve. I mean it only cost a few bucks to go to a drag strip.

TransAminal

I can see arresting them and charging them with street racing, but seizing their cars is ridiculous. That is unconstitutional, they shouldn't be able to just take away their personal property like that because they broke a traffic law.

Seizing the cars with stolen parts makes sense, but just confiscating someones car for breaking a traffic law is assenine. Take them to court and pull their license and charge them with the infractions, but taking their car away without compensation is just ridiculous.

cwaldt

iTrader: (4)

Same deal as hunting without a license. They can fine you take all your hunting equipment and you vehicle if they want. Sucks yeah but they could have avoided everything by going to the drag strip.

If you want to play then know the consequences.

texinteg

iTrader: (4)

most of those cars couldnt reach 165mph

325trooper

iTrader: (2)

Noooooo! They be haulin' my VTEC away yo!

import slayer

.

zigroid

iTrader: (22)

id be willing to be teenage girls talking on cell phones cause more accidents than street racers. maybe we should ban teenage girls with cell phones from driving?

I hate to see everyone going crazy over arresting these people. and taking away their cars is going too far.

pugads650

iTrader: (1)

thats sucks i would cry if they siezed my car.

88GTA

I agree.

about going to the strip...
I don't know too much about NC, but not everyone has a drag strip nearby. The closest drag strip to me is a few hours away, and only does 'fun drags' once a week at most (on a wednesday). Doors open at 4pm, and it fills up fast, so basically, i hafta take a half day off from work, pay $20, and then consider myself lucky to get more then 3 runs before the end of the night. gee, i wonder why people would street race instead of taking it to the track?

BlackMagicC5

iTrader: (2)

So if I go out into public and wave my gun around and fire off a few shots, shouldn't that gun be taken away from me? Yes, because I was using it in a reckless way. It's the same thing. The way some of those guys race is so dangerous you couldn't imagine. Being able to drive is not a right, its a privelage. If you don't agree, just ask the DMV. Would you feel differently about this if your wife/gf/child/friend/family got killed by one of these guys doing "165mph"?

V-seriesTech

iTrader: (5)

"great"

Get the **** outta the street racing section then.

******.

cwaldt

iTrader: (4)

Sorry I pissed in your corn flakes. But I figured I'd atleast post in here as a warning to what can happen. Next time I won't worry about it.

brad8266

iTrader: (23)

Tuff crowd in here!!

Rawr256

I believe that if drag strips were more common and were available more often than they are some of this would go down... Our local dragstrip does Friday Night Drags as if you were on the road, someone drops the arms and first down the 1/4 is the winner, no times given though, but they do every once and a while. Lot of the cars I see there on a Friday night are the cars I would expect to see out cruising looking for a race if the place were not open.

Some of this I blame on the Fast and the Furious and how the media/magazines/other people portray cars. How many of those cars in the pictures they took can really reach 165mph? I think it is a little over exagerated, but then again some really could be capable of it.

Taking away the cars I understand and at the same time don't. Taking the car just makes it that much more of an inconvenience (sp?) for them and having to fork out an extra $500 will make you think about it a bit more after you have already payed for the couple thousand in fines. If the cars were left to where they were stopped then I could see someone being sue happy and going after the PD for their car being stripped/stolen. How they know if parts are stolen is kind of beyond me, unless they openly admit to it they stole part X for person X then I could see hitting them for it or maybe stealing from a performance shop. But if these guys are dumb enough to gather like they did I would doubt they are smart enough to pull off a clean theft.

WS64LIFE

just goes to show how the media blows everything out of proportion. "doing in excess of 165 mph." come on guys. i guess it also depends on where this was going on at. downtown, not a smart idea. outside of the city way from most of the traffic, good idea. just my opinion.

Camaro ChriSS

I agree. You're area is much like mine. I enjoy the strip, but its likely once every 2 weeks its open to the public, you're lucky to get 1 run every 2 hours, and you get no choice of who you race (I usually get a 14+ second car and 3 runs).

Still, I don't race on the street much. The occassional impromtu run, and usually in the booneys. I wish the track was a better option.

Considering its always so swamped, you'd think they open it more often for public runs - you'd think it would be profitable.

04Terminator

+1 on the media comment. I'm lucky that I have a drag strip fairly close. However, I wish there was some way that more people could legally and safely race. It would be great if there was a way to get racing off the streets and more convenient for most enthusiasts. I know street racing is still going to happen, but it would be nice to have a means for which to make it safer and legal so racing on the street would not be so tempting for those that want to be responsible.

jimmy169

165mph?? You think those acura's and civic's and even that mustang can do 165mph? That's not street racing that's reckless driving, i mean I know street racing is prob considered reckless driving too but seriously if your doing a true drag race why would u need to get up to 165mph, realistically speaking, and how long do you think you'd hold it there for. Your not thinking of true street racing your thinking of those bs movies and game's where people cut cars off and go in and out of traffic trying to maintain a high speed, that's NOT street racing...

I remember seeing a retarded documentury on tv about street racing and how they showed a picture of a civic saying they modify these things to reach in access of 200+mph...this was on the news, where i used to think they stated facts...are you ******* kidding me, you believe this kind of bullshit??


"Their cars, some valued at up to $40,000, likely will be sold at a public auction, police said."

And someone please show me a car there that's valued up to $40,000 dollars... They'd be lucky to get 6-8 grand for most of those, and I mean real lucky.