Florida police arrest 69 people in street racing bust, including juveniles

St. Petersburg, Florida, police shut down a street racing event Saturday night, resulting in the arrests of 69 people, many of whom were juveniles, while impounding 23 vehicles.

The St. Petersburg Police Department said a major operation, which was assisted by the Pinellas Sheriff’s Office, Pinellas Park Police and Florida Highway Patrol, was executed to shut down a street racing event at about 10:45 p.m. Saturday.

Dozens of people were gathered in a parking lot between two buildings on Roosevelt Boulevard to watch vehicles perform donuts, burnouts and other types of dangerous street racing activity.

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Investigators learned the event at the parking lot was just a warm-up, and the group planned to take over major intersections in Pinellas County.

When law enforcement officers arrived, they surrounded the parking lot with over 50 patrol cruisers, arresting 69 people.

Police said the 69 people arrested included underaged individuals and a couple who brought their 1-year-old and 3-year-old to the event.

The suspects face charges such as fleeing and eluding and child endangerment, all felonies, as well as street racing, driving with a suspended license and obstruction, all misdemeanors.

Broken down, police issued 57 misdemeanors, 12 felonies and 24 citations.

According to a press release from the St. Petersburg Police Department, the operation was part of an ongoing effort to stop illegal street racing in Pinellas County.

“The participants drive at high rates of speed and display driving stunts that are dangerous for the drivers and onlookers,” the release read. “On January 29, 13-year-old Ethan Martin was killed at a street racing event he attended with his father in St. Petersburg.”

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Ethan’s father, Johnny Julio Martin, was charged with child neglect after his son was killed when a motorcycle traveling 100 mph crashed as they watched illegal street racing.