On Friday, Dec 6, the Antioch Police responded to a group of individuals who had gathered in the parking lot of Hobby Lobby on Lone Tree Way in the city of Antioch.

During the graveyard hours, Antioch and Brentwood Police officers responded to approximently 200 vehicles with several vehicles participating in illegal sideshow activities at Hobby Lobby. Officers mobilized into the parking lot which caused vehicles to disperse.

According to Antioch Police spokesperson Ashley Crandell, she said two vehicles were towed and 1 citation was issued. However, they are still working the investigation.

The Antioch Police Department says they takes a no tolerance approach to sideshow activity and are glad we were able to remove some of these vehicles from the street. They also issued a thank you to the Brentwood Police Department for your assistance.

Back on Dec. 14, Brentwood Police Chief Tim Herbert issued a report on the recent sideshow activity with gunshots fired on Sand Creek Road near the bypass which resulted in shots fired on December 4, 2022. In that incident, the group moved from City of Pittsburg to City of Antioch before hitting Brentwood. No arrests, citations, or injuries were reported.

These events are very disturbing to our community, I understand that, but when we have a 100 plus vehicles with people discharging firearms into the air, four police officers and one sergeant to handle it, its not safe for the officers and not safe to the community as a whole.

Once we had requested mutual aid from neighboring agencies, we were only able to get four Contra Costa County Sheriffs deputies and one CHP officer to assist with us, once that group did show up. It gave us more numbers to push them into a direction where they finally decided to breakup and leave.

Herbert said they were working on a regional wide meeting on how to address sideshows from a law enforcement standpoint and how to prevent them.

Bill to Crack Down on Street Racing and Illegal Sideshows Signed by Governor

SACRAMENTO, CA — Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill (AB) 2000, which will prohibit street racing and sideshows from occurring in parking lots across the state. The bipartisan measure, authored by Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel (D – Woodland Hills), aims to crack down on dangerous driving—including street racing, “sideshows,” and street takeovers—which continue to cause injuries and fatalities across California.

Expanding on AB 3, which was signed into law last year, AB 2000 allows courts to issue a driver’s license suspension for the exhibition of motor vehicle speed during a sideshow taking place in a parking lot—an area not currently covered under the law—and thereby helps to further deter individuals from engaging in these dangerous activities.  — Full Story