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An Arlington man was arrested in Austin after a “street takeover” over the weekend where drivers obstructed roads, drove recklessly and shot off fireworks.
A state trooper arrested Jerry Antonio Gore, 22, on Saturday on charges of evading arrest, obstructing a highway, theft of a firearm and the unlawful carrying of a weapon, according to an arrest-warrant affidavit. It is unclear whether he has an attorney.
Videos posted online show vehicles doing doughnuts, with crowds gathering around intersections in Austin and people setting off fireworks.
Street racers have taken over the South Lamar and Barton Springs intersection in Austin. They’re doing donuts and lighting off fireworks with a big crowd. pic.twitter.com/ibMyiqsUiO
— Allie Morris 🌟 (@MorrisReports) February 19, 2023
The Texas Department of Public Safety helped Austin police respond to the citywide event, the affidavit says. About 11:25 p.m., a state trooper went to a blocked intersection and saw a gray Chevrolet Camaro and a multicolor Dodge Charger drifting and doing burnouts around pedestrians, nearly striking them.
When the trooper tried to stop the vehicles, the drivers sped off — reaching speeds of more than 140 mph — and turned off their lights, according to the affidavit. The trooper wrote in the affidavit that because the driving behaviors were putting the public’s safety at risk, he stopped his pursuit and told a DPS aircraft to follow the vehicles.
Even when police were not nearby, the trooper said, the drivers were not using headlights and passing other motorists at speeds over 150 mph.
The Charger and Camaro later split up, and the DPS aircraft informed officers that the Camaro was parked at a 7-Eleven, according to the affidavit. The trooper and other officers used their vehicles to box in the Camaro and arrested the driver in the store’s bathroom.
The driver, identified as Jerry Gore, told the trooper he knew he would be arrested for running from the event, according to the affidavit. When authorities searched the car, they found two guns, one of which had been reported stolen in Dallas.
Gore told authorities he was only in Austin for the takeover and he had conflicting stories about the stolen firearm, according to the affidavit. The trooper wrote that Gore also sang phrases such as “there were guns in the car” while in custody.
Gore was booked into the Travis County jail and has been released after posting bail, according to jail records.
On Tuesday, another man was arrested in West Texas in connection with a Grapevine street takeover on New Year’s Eve, police said.
Sweetwater police arrested Juan Carlos Rodriguez, 22, on a charge of engaging in organized criminal activity. He is accused of being a ringleader in a group of drivers who recklessly endangered the public, Grapevine police said. It is unclear whether Rodriguez has an attorney.
Authorities are investigating the Dec. 31 takeover, where drivers revved their engines and drove dangerously at the intersection of Main Street and Dallas Road, police said. Anyone with information may contact police at cidmail@grapevinetexas.gov.