Surveillance video captured the alarming sights from February, as a car meetup spontaneously shut down a major intersection in downtown Durham, outside of Durham Bulls Athletic Park.

Participants poured gasoline in a circle, lit it on fire and proceeded to do car stunts around it, as passengers precariously hung out windows of screeching cars, with onlookers only steps away. 

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"We've seen steady growth in this activity," said Sgt. John Wagstaff Jr., with the Durham Police Department's Organized Crime Division. "It's a major issue in every metropolitan area."

Wagstaff said those who participate in these types of car meetups in Durham are a mix of locals and those who travel from out of state.

"They take turns going to different cities," he said. "They travel the country."

Wagstaff believes the best hope for putting a stop to these meetups in the city is the "Street Takeover" law, which went into effect a little more than a year ago. It makes it a misdemeanor to take over a street on the first offense, and a felony for subsequent offenses. 

Wagstaff said police charged a man last summer they believe to be one of the main organizers of the car meetups in Durham. 

The Durham District Attorney's Office dropped his charge earlier this year.

WRAL Investigates asked District Attorney Satana Deberry why the charge was dropped. First, she cited his age (younger than 21) and that he "had no criminal record."

Yet, he did have a criminal record, including multiple felony convictions prior to the incident in question.

When WRAL Investigates' Sarah Krueger pointed that out to Deberry, she wrote back, "You are correct. That was my mistake – I pulled up the wrong screen. I will research it further and get back to you."

Deberry then explained that the defendant "did an 8-hour driving school as diversion."

Deberry then sent another response, writing, "The ADA who handled that case was new and did not follow the office process for handling such cases … I have provided internal retraining for that ADA."

"We take the street takeovers seriously," she wrote.  "[This] case is an outlier, it is not indicative of our concern for the public."

WRAL Investigates asked Wagstaff for his perspective on the case's outcome.

"They were dismissed for compliance with a driving program," Sgt. Wagstaff said.  "And all I would say is he was never accused of driving."

The dangers of car meetups in Durham are well-documented. Last year, a man died at a meetup in Durham County. According to a search warrant from the sheriff's office, he had been hanging out the window of a car doing a stunt when he was run over.

Later in the year, Durham police shot an armed teen at a car club meetup in south Durham.

Wagstaff said cracking down on the dangerous gatherings is a priority for the Durham Police Department.

"The biggest reason it’s a priority is because of the nexus it has with other criminal activity," he said. "This loosely organized, seemingly fun gathering was being exploited by gang member drug dealers here in Durham who were going there because no one was really in control, and it was an open community to sell drugs to."

"We are going to make it very clear that if you come to Durham, we are going to charge you," he continued.

As Durham police attempt to put a stop to the behavior, Wagstaff said they face limitations due to staffing and the lack of oversight in social media, where participants post videos of their stunts and plans for their meets.

In the February video, surveillance images show Instagram usernames painted on the sides of car windows, and a participant in an inflatable dinosaur suit, hanging out the window of one of the stunt cars. Sgt. Wagstaff said social media and entertainment are driving factors for the groups' activities. 

WRAL Investigates reached out to Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, to ask about how the company viewed its role in stopping this behavior. A spokesperson replied with the company’s “Coordinating Harm and Promoting Crime” policy.

Earlier this month, Durham police announced they had charged nine people in a car meetup operation. Sgt. Wagstaff said those are not necessarily the same people involved in the downtown Durham meetup, but they are part of the same network. He said he expects to file charges for "street takeover" soon against at least 18 individuals related to the February incident.

Durham Mayor Leonardo Williams lives downtown near where the large meetup occurred. He heard the noise, but had not seen the surveillance video until WRAL Investigates showed it to him.

"This is extremely dangerous," he said, watching the video. "Someone could get killed."

Williams reiterated his commitment to supporting Durham police’s endeavors to end the behavior and stressed the importance of prosecuting those responsible.

Does it make you sad to see the city treated like this?" WRAL Investigates asked Williams as he watched the video.

"No," he replied. "It doesn’t make me sad. It pisses me the hell off.”