Los Angeles County prosecutors have charged a man described by law enforcement as one of Southern California’s most prominent street racing influencers on 16 counts of conspiracy to organize many so-called “street acquisitions.”
Erick Romero Quintana, 22, pleaded not guilty during a brief trial appearance in downtown Los Angeles Thursday and will face at least a decade of prison after authorities accused him of operating an Instagram account @privatemeetz, which blew up 16 different takeover locations in the south from December 2022 to November 2023, which was filed with applications from more than 60,000 followers.
In one of the events, a 24-year-old girl died when a spinning car drove into a crowd.
Street racing has long proven to be the deadly part of Southern California’s wider automotive culture. The Times investigation found that between 2000 and 2017, at least 179 people were killed in street racing-related incidents. While street races are often seen as one-to-one speed races of a quarter-mile, early installments in the “Fast & Fierce” movie series highlighted, “sideshows” or so-called “takeover” or “takeover” can often prove dangerous dangers.
During the takeover event, racers and spectators rushed to the intersection and blocked traffic, while motorists performed stunts in a small space, in a small space between asphalt, where they were crossing the line and the spectators themselves. Drivers often perform “burnout” or “donuts” to try to see how many times they can rotate in circles, or compete to see who can slide to the closest to the fixed object without hitting it.
The allegations against Quintana represent a new approach where people involved in the racing scene are not drivers. Arnold Castellanos, a member of Sergeant LAPD Street Racing Task Force, said the prosecution was a necessary step first.
“Street takeovers have become more than just redundant cars. Over time, ‘car clubs’ have formed, which compete with each other to see who has a better driver who can “bully” other drivers,” Castellanos said. “This has exacerbated tensions and caused the car club to act like a gang.”
Quintana will return to court in July. Each conspiracy charge is sentenced to at least 16 months in prison.
Los Angeles County. Atti. Nathan Hochman said the allegations against Quintana were the beginning of a broader effort to curb street racers. Hochman noted that acquisitions can attract large and unruly populations who commit minor crimes in the areas where they occur. He noted that the big mob smashed their way into Compton bakery and robbed it after the acquisition last year.
“People like Quintana are the ones who bring street racers and audiences together, who are just as responsible for the crimes committed as they do,” Hockman said.
Quintana’s attorney Bart Kaspero said he was “confused” by law enforcement’s attitude towards the case. Although he has no doubts about Quintana being behind the account or posting the acquisition location, he says his customers are not attending the event or driving. He likens the prosecution to those who accused of distributing leaflets to political parties that committed crimes.
“It’s a bit too much to target the people who just announced where the meeting was,” he said.
Kaspero described his client as merely a “car enthusiast” and rejected police and prosecutors’ description of street takeover as a paradise for crime, or that his client should know about the events he allegedly organized, his client should know about bad things.
“I think it’s safe to say that most people have a spectacle there,” Caspero said.
Hockman said it was impossible for Quintana to say he didn’t know something dangerous could have happened during the takeover because he allegedly organized 15 more takeovers after he posted a location in Hyde Park after a woman died.
Castellanos said Quintana’s account will post an Instagram story with the words “symbols or abbreviations that allow everyone to respond in the way of Flash Mob and overwhelm the position.” He said people like Quintana used the “Holocaust” that gained online influence in the takeover campaign, hoping that they would gain enough followers to monetize their accounts.
Castellanos said the people participating in the takeover had a “Grand Theft Auto” mentality – citing popular video game franchises where players can turn pixelated versions of Los Angeles, Miami and New York into unparalleled playgrounds for violence – personally deeming them untouchable and not worrying about law enforcement agencies or criminal justice systems. ”
