Renewed Arrests of the Alleged Mastermind of Miami-Dade Intersection Takeovers

According to Miami-Dade Police, Jose Alfredo Martinez Jr., 32, and Marlene Olivera Dasilva, 31, were both detained early on Saturday on two charges of encouraging drag racing.

Arrested for Illegal Intersection Takeovers:

According to Miami-Dade Police, Jose Alfredo Martinez Jr., 32, and Marlene Olivera Dasilva, 31, were both detained early on Saturday on two charges of encouraging drag racing.

A guy has been detained once more on suspicion of arranging street races and junction takeovers in South Florida since 2022. According to Miami-Dade Police, he and a lady staged more takeovers over the weekend.

According to Miami-Dade Police, Jose Alfredo Martinez Jr., 32, and Marlene Olivera Dasilva, 31, were both detained early on Saturday on two charges of encouraging drag racing. Four tickets were also issued due to the intersection takeover enforcement operation that included the arrests, according to the police.

Martinez, who had created a flier for an intersection takeover on Instagram, and Dasilva, who manages one of the most popular Instagram accounts that reposts and spreads the flyers, allegedly recruited people to participate via a Telegram chat.

According to the allegations, they posted an address in Hialeah, where police in undercover cars arrived and saw many automobiles obstructing a junction. The other vehicles left as one of the police pulled in, but according to the reports, a message was put out on the chat about another address in Opa-Locka.

When police arrived at the Opa-Locka home, they discovered Dasilva’s vehicle, pulled it over, and arrested Dasilva and Martinez.

According to the arrest records, Martinez has been charged with at least four additional intersection takeover instances.

Records indicated that Martinez had been detained in January on over 20 charges of helping to facilitate drag racing, nine counts of instigating a disturbance, and one count each of reckless driving and running from the law.

According to arrest records, Martinez has allegedly organized junction takeovers in Miami-Dade and Broward since June 2022. According to the reports, hundreds of competitors and onlookers turn up to these events, where they race, drift, do donuts, and perform other risky antics that obstruct traffic lanes.

According to the authorities, street takeovers and stunt driving events have recently increased and are dangerous for participants, onlookers, and other drivers. Participants and organizers have been taken into custody several times around South Florida.

As per state legislation passed in 2022, street racing is prohibited. This covers takeovers, drifting, wheelies, burnouts, drag racing, donuts, and other associated actions that can make roads dangerous. In addition to jail time, drivers risk having their license suspended and paying penalties of up to $5,000.