Police say he ran illegal car races on Miami-area streets. How that stopped for now
Police say the mastermind behind 40 illegal drag races on Miami-Dade County streets has been stopped in his tracks for now.
Jose Alfredo Martinez, 31, has charged with 40 counts of facilitating drag racing on highways and roads. He was arrested on Monday and has bonded out of jail.
Miami-Dade police detectives investigated Martinez’s drag racing ring in June. They said he would message a group of people addresses for racers and spectators.
At the events, those whose didn’t race were told to block intersections so officers and other cars couldn’t get through, police said. Martinez, they said, would then tell them to block police from clearing the road when he saw them coming.
Each of his 40 counts corresponds to a specific race or drift event that happened in the county. All the events took place from 11 p.m. to 4 a.m. June 10-20, police said.
The races didn’t happen all in one city or neighborhood. Events were organized in Doral, Little Havana, Opa-locka, Hialeah and other parts of the county.
Detectives are still looking into Martinez’s group of drifters and racers, as well as other drag racing groups across the county.
“These individuals arrive at organized car meets for the sole purpose of engaging in reckless and dangerous actions across our county, which include drag racing, burnouts, sliding, drifting, and donuts,” Miami-Dade police spokesman Argemis Colome said in a statement. “These events have led to numerous shootings and vehicular homicides and manslaughter.”
It is unclear if Martinez has an attorney. details of his case is not yet available on online Miami-Dade court records.
Anyone with information on this case or other drag racing events is asked to call CrimeStoppers at 305-471-8477 or visit www.crimestoppersmiami.com and select “Give a Tip”.
This story was originally published December 1, 2022 at 6:15 PM.
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