SAN ANTONIO – Three men were arrested and their vehicles were impounded in connection with three street takeover incidents this weekend in San Antonio.
According to preliminary reports from the San Antonio Police Department, one of the drivers arrested had two handguns and the vehicles that were impounded were seen doing “donuts.”
SAPD Police Chief William McManus took to social media to condemn the racers, calling the incidents “foolish ... dangerous” and said the department “will be waiting” if racers took to the streets again.
Last nite, once again, street takeover racers tried it again. Foolish… dangerous! We arrested them, impounded their cars, issued citations, and seized weapons they were illegally carrying. If you choose to come back, we’ll be waiting.
— Chief Bill McManus (@Chief_McManus) June 11, 2023
The first arrest happened around 11:50 p.m. on Saturday in the 500 block of SW Loop 410.
Dagoberto Ibarra-Vega, 22, was arrested and charged with reckless driving. His 2014 Chevrolet Silverado was impounded, the report said.
The second arrest was made around midnight Saturday in the 2000 block of SW Loop 410, about 15 blocks away from the first incident.
Pedro Mora Jr., 22, was arrested for reckless driving and unlawfully carrying a weapon. Mora had two handguns in his possession, the report said. His 2007 Dodge Magnum was impounded.
The third arrest was made around the same time, but at a different location, in the 6600 block of Interstate 35 North.
Jose Arturo Contreras Serrato, 30, was arrested for reckless driving. His 2018 GMC Sierra was impounded, the report said.
SAPD Sergeant Washington Moscoso says this trend of street takeovers usually happens during the summer months.
“A lot of times these happen on the weekends, but you know the saying, idle hands are the devil’s playground,” Moscoso, a public information officer with SAPD said.
In total, the takeover resulted in four misdemeanors, three vehicles impounded, two firearms seized, and two traffic citations.
“Anytime there’s kind of illegal activity there’s gonna be also weapons that are involved and things can escalate quickly, people can get hurt. Our main priority is to ensure public safety. These laws are on the books for a reason,” Moscoso said.
Street takeovers are not a new problem here.
In January, a video went viral of a street takeover on I-10 and Callaghan. A driver began shooting and caused a four-vehicle crash.
The next month, SAPD helped tip off the Austin Police Department ahead of a large-scale takeover there where an officer was hurt and several patrol cars were damaged.
Sgt. Moscoso says they work with police departments in other areas outside of San Antonio to help keep the street takeover problem in check and to keep the public safe.
“Our fusion center is for South Texas so we cover a wide area of South Texas and like I said we monitor social media and open source data that we can see something that’s happening not necessarily in San Antonio and then we just warn ‘hey this might be happening, you might want to check out this area,’” he said.