Deputies on alert during 'Wheels Up, Guns Down' MLK rallies

Last year, 2 died while riding dirt bike and ATV illegally

FILE PHOTO, 2017

A Martin Luther King Day weekend event known as the Wheels Up, Guns Down ride out is known to involve illegal ATV and dirt bike riding on the streets and dangerous stunts. 

Last year, the driver of a Toyota Camry struck and killed Javis Charles, 25, at Northwest Sixth Avenue and 54th Street in Miami's Little Haiti. Charles was on a dirt bike, which isn't allowed on the streets. 

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A 20-year-old man was riding an ATV, also not allowed on the streets, on the Palmetto Expressway when he was injured and was pronounced dead at Jackson Memorial Hospital.

South Florida's law enforcement community promises tough enforcement. They will be making arrests and towing vehicles. Some of the violators traveled to South Florida to participate in the event heavily promoted on social media. 

Last year, Wilfredo Garcia Jr., 27, traveled from New Yor to Hollywood to drive an ATV on State Road 7 on a dirt bike. Officers couldn't arrest him there, but they tracked him down and asked the New York Police Department for help. 

Hollywood Police Chief Tomas Sanchez's warning after he announced the arrest: "Don't come down here to behave in a lawless, criminal manner or we will pursue you."


About the Author

The Emmy Award-winning journalist joined the Local 10 News team in 2013. She wrote for the Miami Herald for more than 9 years and won a Green Eyeshade Award.

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