Santa Ana police go undercover to stop street racing

SANTA ANA, Calif. (KABC) -- Santa Ana police are working undercover in an effort to push back against illegal street racing and the increasing danger it poses to participants and innocent bystanders.

Around 9:30 p.m. on a recent Thursday night in Santa Ana, three cars roared down a major street, pushing 80 miles an hour. Santa Ana Police Department says these illegal street races have become a regular occurrence.

"We've received numerous complaints from citizens about vehicles coming into the city of Santa Ana, driving at high rates of speed, reckless driving and speed contests." Santa Ana Police Cpl. Mark Bell said.

The police department's cracking down, using a group of officers to track racing activity.

To get a closer look at how these races work, Eyewitness News rode along with Bell, who worked undercover that night.

"They'll gather a lot like this, like this Ralph's shopping center, and they'll socialize," Bell said.

Officers conducted surveillance on parking lots where racers are known to hang out. On the Thursday night, more than 30 trucks parked at the lot and more than 50 cars at another lot.

After a few hours, several of the cars moved to an industrial area. They did doughnuts and waited outside a garage.

"We've connected that garage to these vehicles that are committing these crimes in and around this area," Bell said.

Then, close to midnight, a race began. Two cars sped right into a group of waiting police officers.

In the backseat of one of the cars sat a 5-year-old with autism not wearing a seat belt and a baby in a child seat.

The driver now faces a child endangerment charge, in addition to a misdemeanor count for racing. Both cars will be impounded for 30 days.

It's "the second time in a month that we've had juveniles under the age of two that have been in vehicles that have been involved in speed contests," Bell said.

The next day, skid marks covered the street where the race happened.

Santa Ana police and other federal partners later shifted their focus to the garage officers believe many racers use to fix their cars.

"I can't stop anyone from doing anything once they leave here. If someone wants a service, then I'm going to sell the service," mechanic Josh Cole said.

The problem is Cole doesn't have a permit with the city or a business license. He was given a citation and told to shut down the garage.

"We came along to check and make sure this guy's registered with the Bureau of Auto Repair, which, of course, he's not," said Luke Longoria with the Bureau of Automotive Repair.

This was the eighth week of the police department's special enforcement. Officers say they plan to continue until racers stop coming to their city for good.