2 charged in connection with illegal car meetups; investigators vow to track others down
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- The Philadelphia District Attorney's Office charged two men in connection with last weekend's illegal car meetups that injured an officer and damaged at least five police vehicles.
Police say the meetups involved 50 to 200 vehicles between 9:30 p.m. on September 21 and 4:33 a.m. on September 22. Suspects were seen drifting, setting off fireworks, starting trash fires, and, in some cases, vandalizing police vehicles.
Deonte Vincent, 25, was charged Thursday with several offenses, including aggravated assault, for his alleged role in one of the gatherings.
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"We are not intimidated by your cool cars or your screeching tires," said Chief Public Safety Director Adam Geer during a joint news conference with the district attorney's office.
Vincent is accused of speeding his Dodge Charger toward two officers near the 7400 block of Bustleton Avenue, nearly hitting them before hitting another car and driving off.
"The officers were able to identify the license plate number and were able to identify the person driving as Mr. Vincent," said William Sandman with the DA's carjacking enforcement unit.
Another driver, identified by police as 19-year-old Jhonny Martinez, was allegedly seen performing donuts in the middle of the intersection at Columbus Boulevard and Pattison Avenue around midnight.
The vehicle was followed by police and later observed crashing into a pole. Four suspects fled but police say they were able to track down Martinez, of Upper Darby, who was charged with recklessly endangering another person.
Investigators released more videos on Thursday in an attempt to identify the people involved, some of whom they believe came from other states.
"People have driven long and far to be involved in this, and we are going to go get them. We have a lot of these people on video. We've already identified some of them, and we have about 38 cars we've identified," said Deputy Police Commissioner Frank Vanore.
So far, five cars have been recovered and there are active warrants for 21 others, despite many trying to hide their identities.
"Look, masks, fake license plates, things like that, you think are going to trick law enforcement and trick us, it's not going to work," said Danielle Burkavage, an assistant district attorney on the gun violence task force.
Officials say they wanted to use this news conference as a way to send a message that they are going after everyone involved this weekend.
"What happened this weekend is an absolute outrage that cannot and will not be tolerated. Let me make this very clear to anyone listening: Philadelphia streets are not their personal playground," said Kimberly Esack with the DA's economic crimes division.
Vincent is currently in custody on $1.5 million bail and has a preliminary hearing scheduled for October 11.
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