About 60 cars and two motorcycles were towed over the weekend as part of an effort to crack down on illegal street takeovers.
The vehicles were impounded as part of an operation by the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office in coordination with Stockton police and other law enforcement agencies in the county, the Sheriff’s Office said in a social media post.
Drivers of the impounded vehicles were suspected of taking part in so-called “sideshows.” These unlawful gatherings involve groups who often arrange to meet via social media, usually late at night, at a particular intersection or street. Once there, the drivers perform stunts with their cars, often drifting, or spinning out, with tires screeching and smoking and passengers sometimes hanging out the windows. It’s a phenomenon that’s a problem in other cities as well.
Drivers sometimes lose control, injuring those in the crowds that gather to watch. In some cities, guns have been brandished.
“These events are dangerous, disruptive, and will not be tolerated,” the Sheriff’s Office said, warning that “if you choose to take part, expect enforcement.”
Authorities said the multi-agency effort to stop the illegal activity was part of a Spring Time Side Show operation. The cars were towed over a 10-hour period. The office did not say where the arrests were made.
Gov. Gavin Newsom authorized the impounding of vehicles involved in street takeovers when he signed new laws that went effect in January 2025.
It’s not the first time that San Joaquin County Sheriff Patrick Withrow has ordered mass towings as a way of stopping sideshows.
Last year during the first week of May, deputies made 44 arrests and impounded vehicles in a similar move against the illegal gatherings. And in 2024, nearly 90 vehicles were impounded in another sideshow slap down.
As of February, some of the seized cars and trucks from that operation were still unclaimed in the sheriff’s impound yard.