Prison for Instagram posts? L.A. authorities target street racing influencer

Los Angeles Times

2 days ago

A man described by law enforcement as one of Southern California's most prominent street racing influencers has been charged by Los Angeles County prosecutors with 16 counts of conspiracy for organizing a number of so-called 'street takeovers.'
Erick Romero Quintana, 22, pleaded not guilty during a brief court appearance Thursday in downtown L.A. He faces at least a decade in prison after authorities charged him with running the Instagram account @privatemeetz, which blasted out the locations of 16 different takeover events across South L.A. to its more than 60,000 followers from December 2022 to November 2023, according to a criminal complaint filed last month.
At one of those events, a 24-year-old girl died after a spinning car careened into the crowd.
Street racing events have long proved to be a deadly part of Southern California's broader car culture. A Times investigation found that at least 179 people were killed in street racing related incidents between 2000 and 2017. While people often think of street races as the quarter-mile one-on-one speed contests highlighted by the early installments in the 'Fast & The Furious' film franchise, so-called 'sideshows' or 'takeovers' can often prove dangerous too.
At takeover events, racers and spectators rush to an intersection and block traffic, while motorists perform stunts in a small space with little room between the asphalt they're skidding across and the audience itself. Drivers often perform 'burnouts' or 'doughnuts,' trying to see how many times they can spin their car in a circle, or compete to see who can skid to a stop closest to a fixed object without crashing into it.
The charges filed against Quintana represent a novel approach to target people involved in the racing scene who aren't drivers. Sgt. Arnold Castellanos, a member of the LAPD's Street Racing Task Force, said the first-of-its-kind prosecution is a necessary step.
'Street takeovers have evolved into so much more than just cars doing donuts. Over time 'car clubs' have formed, these car clubs 'compete' against each other to see who has the better drivers and can 'bully' other drivers out of the pit,' Castellanos said. 'This has escalated tensions and has resulted in the car clubs acting like gangs.'
Quintana is due back in court in July. Each conspiracy count carries a minimum prison sentence of 16 months.
Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman said the charges against Quintana are the beginning of a broader effort to rein in street racers. Hochman noted that the takeovers can attract large and unruly crowds, which commit secondary crimes in the areas where they take place. He pointed to the large mob that smashed their way into a Compton bakery and robbed it after a takeover last year.
'People like Quintana are the ones bringing together the street racers and the spectators, they are as responsible and accountable for the crimes being committed as all the other participants in the conspiracy,' Hochman said.
Quintana's attorney, Bart Kaspero, said he was 'puzzled' by law enforcement's approach to the case. While he didn't dispute that Quintana was behind the account or that he posted locations of takeovers, he said his client didn't attend the events or drive at any of them. He likened the prosecution to charging someone who handed out fliers to a party where a crime was committed.
'To target the guy who just announced where the meetings are, is a bit of overkill,' he said.
Kaspero described his client as a mere 'car enthusiast' and rejected police and prosecutors' depictions of street takeovers as havens of criminality, or the idea that his client should have known something bad would happen at the events he allegedly organized.
'I think it's safe to say most people that are there are there for a spectacle,' Kaspero said.
Hochman said it would be impossible for Quintana to argue he didn't know something dangerous might happen at a takeover event, considering he allegedly organized 15 additional takeovers after a woman died the Christmas Day event he posted locations for in Hyde Park.
Castellanos said Quintana's account would post Instagram stories with 'symbols or abbreviations which coincided with intersections allowing for all to respond in a flash mob fashion and overwhelm the location.' He said people like Quintana exploit the 'carnage' that happens at takeover events to gain online clout, hoping they will gain enough of a following to monetize their accounts.
Castellanos said people who attend takeovers have a 'Grand Theft Auto' mentality — invoking the popular video game franchise where players can turn pixelated versions of Los Angeles, Miami and New York into violent lawless playgrounds — 'where individuals believe they are untouchable and do not fear law enforcement or the criminal justice system.'