Philadelphia police announce two arrests from weekend string of dangerous car meets

PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphia authorities on Thursday announced charges against two men they say were involved in a string of wild and raucous car meets last week that ran from Saturday night into Sunday morning. Police say a Philadelphia man endangered two officers when he drove his car toward them before fleeing a meetup in the city's Northeast, and an Upper Darby man is charged with recklessly endangering another person at a meetup in South Philadelphia.

Deonte Vincent, 25, of Philadelphia was arrested on Tuesday and is charged with aggravated assault, simple assault, recklessly endangering another person, and several related offenses, according to Philadelphia Assistant District Attorney William Sandman.

According to police, officers responded to a Pep Boys parking lot on the 7400 block of Bustleton Avenue around 9:30 p.m. Saturday to break up a 50-car meet there. During the melee, the driver of a blue Dodge Charger accelerated toward two officers. They avoided being hit, and the Charger collided with a red Dodge Durango, which was not involved in the car meet.

The driver of the Durango was not seriously hurt, but the vehicle was disabled. As the driver of the Charger fled the scene, both officers were able to get a clear view of the driver and identify the vehicle. Police later secured a warrant for Vincent’s arrest.

When police took Vincent into custody, they say, they found several guns in the home. He is being held on $1.3 million bail. He has a preliminary hearing scheduled for Oct. 11.

Then, around midnight, police arrested Upper Darby man Jhonny Martinez, 19, in South Philadelphia. When an officer saw Martinez in his silver Nissan doing donuts near the intersection of Columbus Boulevard and Pattison Avenue, police say, Martinez made a 180-degree turn and sped toward the officer’s patrol car.

The officer maneuvered out of the way and followed Martinez for a couple of blocks, until the Nissan hit a pole at 300 Pattison Avenue and four men jumped out and ran. Police apprehended Martinez, and he is charged with recklessly endangering another person for his role at that car meet.

More charges could be coming. Police say hundreds of people gathered through Saturday night and Sunday morning at 11 major intersections around the city, and the Police Department’s intelligence unit is working with the FBI and ATF to identify each person who participated.

“They moved in unison together and wrecked havoc and caused all kinds of chaos,” said Deputy Commissioner Frank Vanore at a press briefing Thursday.

“We have multiple investigative methods that we are using to identify people that were involved in these incidents, and doing criminal activity. People were lighting fires, they are holding up firearms, in some of these cases. And they are all obviously driving recklessly,” Vanore said.

About two dozen other participants were cited, for about $2,000 each, for being part of the chaos. Police believe most of the people who gathered were from out of state.

“We are actively investigating criminal activity that night, and we are nowhere near done,” Vanore said.

Vanore says several people were injured, including a police officer and a girl who ended up in a Delaware hospital.

“There was a 17-year-old girl that came with the participants. She was struck by fireworks,” Vanore said. “She went back to Delaware, where she lived, and wound up in a hospital where, for several hours, they thought she was shot.”

The girl is expected to be OK.

Those who gathered at the car meets called the organized chaos "Project X," and police believe it’s in retaliation to officers cracking down on them. Five police cars were damaged, at a cost of about $16,000. In total, police say, there was at least $30,000 dollars in damage, which the city must now pay for.

Police urge anyone who may have video or pictures from that night to send in their content through the Philadelphia Police Department’s website .