Sheriff gives punks bad news about 88 cars towed and impounded after major street-takeover bust: 'No need to keep calling'

The sheriff of California's San Joaquin County shared some bad news with the owners of 88 cars that were towed and impounded after a major street-takeover bust last Friday in Stockton.

Seems the little angels in the illegal "sideshow" — which typically consists of meeting at a predetermined intersection, blocking it off, and doing endless donuts and other dangerous stuff while a big crowd gawks and records it on video — had been calling the sheriff's office and wanting their rides back.

Sheriff Patrick Withrow, however, has a very different plan in mind — and he bluntly told them on video, "No need to keep calling."

First off, authorities are holding on to all the impounded cars "indefinitely until they are processed, and the District Attorney advises they are no longer needed for prosecution," he said. But even worse for the street-takeover connoisseurs was Withrow's promise that "we will be looking into the merits of seeking a destruction order for any vehicle deemed to be a public menace." Ouch.

Check out the sheriff's message below:

What's the background?

KXTV-TV reported that last Friday night's street takeover at the intersection of Country Club Boulevard and Pershing Avenue "ended with crowds of people detained and law enforcement in riot gear."

"It was just an unreal scene from when I got there," Michael Garcia, who lives near Stockton's American Legion Park, told KXTV in regard to the sideshow bust. He added to the station that "people were there sitting down, detained."

Image source: KXTV-TV video screenshot

KXTV said law enforcement stopped nearly all sideshow drivers and participants, which resulted in more than 150 people detained and 88 cars towed away.

Withrow told the station his department used a new tactic to stop the street takeover in its tracks: "They're becoming more and more violent, and so we feel that this is the best way to contain it. We were able to find out ... where it was going to occur and fairly quickly get people in place and then swoop in on all sides of that intersection there."

What's more, Withrow told KXTV that "we've already found guns, firearms, and stuff like that from some of the vehicles at the scene — and from our video evidence, we know that we're going to find a lot more."

As you might guess, not everyone was on board with the street-takeover bust. Meet one guy the station identified as "Nicholas," a sideshow spectator who gave the sheriff and his deputies a piece of his mind: "I think it was a little excessive, to be honest. I don't think it should be this much just for kids sliding around in some cars."

Image source: KXTV-TV video screenshot

Nicholas added to KXTV, "Y'all want the kids to stay out of trouble, y'all want money for the city? Give us a legal pit. We wouldn't be outside if we had a legal pit for real."

The station said deputies seized so many cars that they had to store them outside the sheriff's office's headquarters, which necessitated staff to work overtime in order to prevent anyone from getting to the cars.

Withrow remained unmoved by complaints and doubled down, telling KXTV that street takeovers are "irresponsible, it's criminal, and you're going to be held accountable for it. If you don't want to be held accountable, if you don't want to lose your vehicle, if you don't want to go through all the costs of defending yourself in court, then don't attend these sideshows."

This story has been updated.

(H/T: The Auto Wire)

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