Newsom signs bills aimed at cracking down on street takeover organizers, spectators

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed four new bills aimed at helping law enforcement agencies across California crack down on street takeovers.

Under the new laws signed Monday, stricter penalties can be imposed on organizers and spectators to deter illegal activities such as street takeovers, street racing, drifting and the blocking of intersections during sideshows.

The new laws also give authorities the ability to impound the cars of those involved, including those who simply watch.

"It basically allows law enforcement to impound vehicles for 30 days for illegal speed contests and also anyone that's around them, anyone that's helping organize and encouraging this," said Assemblymember Mike Gipson, who authored AB 3085.

Cars were on fire and a dealership was broken into at the scene of two chaotic street takeovers in the Los Angeles area overnight, authorities said.

Bishop L J Guillory of the Compton Public Safety Commission said they worked to install similar ordinances about a year ago, that allowed them to arrest participants for reckless driving and impound their vehicles.

"We saw hundreds of cars not coming to Compton because they knew the cars would be taken and that they would go to jail," he said. "If we start arresting everybody that goes to those street takeovers, and we start taking the cars that go there, it's going to be 30 days, at least, for them to come back out."

Newsom's office said the laws are also designed to improve road safety as the incidents often block intersections and streets, including the path of emergency vehicles.

Southern California is no stranger to street takeovers, with many happening in the South Los Angeles and downtown L.A. areas. Some have even turned deadly.

Earlier this month, car fire was involved in a chaotic street takeover at Jefferson Boulevard and Figueroa Street in the University Park area.

The rear window of an LAPD vehicle was shattered after officers arrived at the scene of a street takeover in the San Fernando Valley.

Back in August, a street takeover crowd in Van Nuys surrounded an LAPD patrol vehicle that responded and smashed the rear window.

"Sideshows are reckless, criminal activities that endanger our communities. We have seen too many people killed or hurt at these events. Today, we are sending a clear message to anyone considering participating in or attending a sideshow: stricter penalties are in place, including the potential loss of your vehicle," Newsom said in a statement.