Four Connecticut men arrested after street takeover in Yaphank, NY

Four people were arrested and a truck and race car impounded after illegal street racing in Yaphank, Suffolk County, police say.

Street takeover in Yaphank ends with four arrests and vehicle seizures

Four people were arrested and a truck along with a race car were impounded following an illegal street takeover in Yaphank, Suffolk County, abc7ny.com reports.

Suffolk County police released video showing dozens of participants gathered on Express Drive North just after 1 a.m. on Sunday. Two vehicles can be seen revving their engines, burning out their tires and speeding away in what authorities described as illegal drag racing.

"This was pretty chaotic and extremely dangerous," said Suffolk Police Commissioner Kevin Catalina.

Officers from the Street Takeover Task Force observed the racing before the vehicles dispersed. A truck towing a trailer carrying a race car was subsequently pulled over, leading to the arrest of four men — all from Connecticut: Christian Vargas Hernandez, John Maldonado, Lawrence Torres, and Efrain Rivera.

Catalina noted that investigators used footage the participants had posted to Instagram as evidence. "They are stupid enough to post their own video on Instagram, so we use that against them," he said. "We use our own bodycam to go back and analyze what happened and identify more cars."

The four were issued field appearance tickets and are scheduled to be arraigned at a later date.

Authorities said the investigation remains open and that additional arrests and vehicle impoundments are possible. Catalina indicated that at least one other vehicle involved in the racing had not yet been seized. "There was another engaging in that race as well and we expect to confiscate that car as well, so the investigation isn't over," he said.

Source: Google News MT — Crime (en)