ANTIOCH — A coordinated approach by multiple law enforcement agencies managed to stop a planned sideshow at a mall parking lot Saturday night, authorities said.
In a statement Sunday evening, police said they were responding to an expected second round of activity following one on August 23 that saw multiple vehicles performance in several locations for hundreds of spectators.
Agencies responding Saturday night included Brentwood, Pittsburg and Oakley police, the California Highway Patrol and Contra Costa Sheriffs Office, with air support from a CHPs Golden Gate Division air-operations unit.
On Saturday night, officers arrived at a Somersville Town Center parking lot and found nearly a hundred vehicles and more than 150 spectators, with more vehicles and viewers at a nearby Wilbur Avenue location.
Officers arrested 71 people, issued 14 citations and towed 26 vehicles in connection with alleged trespassing, reckless driving and speed exhibitions.
Sheriffs deputies and CHP officers had previously teamed up last month for multiple citations in connection with sideshow activity in Martinez and two West Contra Costa towns.
Other East Bay police departments have responded to stepped-up activity as recently as this holiday weekend.
But Antioch has seen more than its share of sideshow activity in recent years, including an October 2017 incident that ended in a
