Antioch mayor looks to increase sideshow enforcement after latest chaotic event
The mayor of Antioch on Wednesday promised to bring back a proposed city ordinance to crack down on sideshows after a massive event was broken up over the weekend.
Police broke up a massive sideshow with more than 200 participants that popped up late Saturday night into Easter Sunday morning.
"That's really common in a lot of intersections," said long-time Antioch resident, Jenna Stone, of tire marks at intersections.
The marks are a remnant from the past weekend's sideshow that popped up late Saturday night. Dozens of cars were doing high-speed donuts and spins and hundreds of spectators were cheering on the drivers.
"I can hear those late at night, and you know distinctly what it is because you can hear that screeching and rubber-burning sound," said Stone.
She believes the answer is simple.
"Prosecute, like get their information. They have license plates. They have VIN numbers. It's really not hard to find these people that are doing things over and over again," she said.
According to Antioch Mayor Lamar Hernandez-Thorpe, that's exactly what they're going to do. During this past weekend's sideshow, he said Antioch Police used drones to record information about participants and spectators.
"There will be some people who will be disappointed later. In a few weeks, their cars are going to be towed, and they will probably be cited. And in some instances it will be parents whose cars are towed," said the mayor.
He said the illegal car gatherings are dangerous and the best approach is to stop them before they even start. The city is installing physical barriers in intersections where sideshows frequently happen, like near Dozier-Libbey High School and the Antioch Marina.
He is also going to bring back a proposed ordinance that would allow the police department to go after the organizers of the illegal gatherings. It was unanimously approved during a first reading in February but was not approved during the second reading more recently.
"The residents of Antioch deserve to live in peace, and we don't need punks like this showing up at our doorstep disturbing the peace. And these sideshows are dangerous. We have had sideshows that have killed people in the city of Antioch," the mayor said.
Residents like Jenna said the city needs to do something, including more crackdowns, because the issue of sideshows continues to get worse.
"More and more lately you see those circle burnouts in every four-way stop, everywhere you go," she says.
The city ordinance allowing the prosecution of sideshow organizers will be brought up at a council meeting in May. Those convicted could face up to six months in jail or a $1,000 fine.
The city is also looking into other ways to put up physical barriers in some intersections to make it impossible to do donuts in a car. The mayor said those could be installed before the end of the year.
