The City of Compton hopes to thwart street takeovers with harsher penalties for those caught in the middle of the illegal events.

The Compton City Council unanimously passed an ordinance to not only incorporate a $5,000 fine for those charged, but also have cars seized and auctioned off.

Street takeovers typically involve multiple cars and crowds of people blocking the passage through an intersection. In the middle of the intersection, cars often peel into donuts, power slides, and burnouts, creating massive clouds of smoke in front of the crowds. There have been multiple occasions where these takeovers in Compton have been followed by thefts at local gas stations, and earlier this year, a shooting.

“We want to send a message here in Compton that we are not going to tolerate that anymore,” Compton City Councilman Jonathan Bowers said during the meeting. “It will go into a digital hot sheet, so we may not get you that day, but we will get you later.”

On February 7, Erick Romero Quintana was arrested for allegedly organizing multiple street takeovers throughout Los Angeles County, including Compton. Law enforcement officials claim Quintana levied his social media following into these large gatherings at select locations.

The council members spoke about using videos and surveillance to identify who are not only actively participating in the burnouts and car games, but also crowd members in order to assess fines.

Should Compton PD confiscate a vehicle in a street takeover, the car may be processed by the city manager and sold in an auction, whether the vehicle belongs to the accused or a family member.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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