Police arrest four in illegal car rally crackdown across two counties

Late-night illegal car rallies that have blocked roads, rattled neighborhoods and pulled officers away from other calls pushed police in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties into a cross-county crackdown. Three men and a teenager were arrested as investigators moved against takeovers that spilled from Prince George’s County into Silver Spring.

The most serious episode unfolded Feb. 22, when a large group of vehicles linked to street takeover activity began in Prince George’s County and moved toward Silver Spring around 12:39 a.m. Police said the crowd shut down East West Highway and Connecticut Avenue, drivers did donuts in the roadway and prevented officers from entering the intersection. Two marked police cruisers were damaged, and one officer was inside a cruiser when the rear window was broken and the windshield smashed. Maryland State Police helped clear the area.

Investigators charged Ayden Joseph Cline, 18, of Cumberland, Pennsylvania, Novorriya Gregory Smith Jr., 20, of Lusby, Maryland, and a 17-year-old from Laurel, who was released to family. Police also said three handguns were recovered during traffic stops by Prince George’s County Police and Maryland State Police before the takeover reached Montgomery County. The episode underscored how quickly a gathering that starts as a street takeover can turn into a regional law-enforcement problem.

A separate April 4 rally in Kensington showed the danger did not end with reckless driving. Police said gunfire broke out in a parking garage on Armory Avenue around 2:33 a.m., and surveillance video led investigators to identify 19-year-old Hermes Matewere as a suspect. The case added to the sense among local leaders that these events are no longer just nuisance gatherings, but flashpoints that can end in violence.

Maryland’s task force on illegal car rallies has said it investigated 49 rallies, charged 45 adults, recovered 22 guns and four stolen cars, and made two drunken-driving arrests. Prince George’s County Police Chief George Nader has described the rallies as involving more than reckless driving, saying violence and drug culture can accompany them. Montgomery County police chief-of-patrol Darren Francke has said the gatherings divert officers from 911 calls and other emergencies.

In Rockville, business owners have said rallies have taken over parking lots and drawn hundreds to some events. For county residents, the question now is whether this latest wave of arrests becomes a sustained deterrent or just another temporary response to a problem that keeps moving from one roadway to the next.