Street Takeovers Are Not “Down” — They Are DEADLY

We keep hearing the same polished talking points: “Street takeovers are down 35% year-to-date.”We are told to celebrate. We are told to feel safer.

But the community is not buying it — because numbers on paper do not equal safety on our streets.

Street takeovers are still happening, still terrorizing neighborhoods, and still turning deadly.

The latest reminder is as disturbing as it is unacceptable:

A $60,000 reward is now being offered for information in the double homicide of Javier Mechaca and Juan Orozco, two young men gunned down at a street takeover in Compton.Over 100 people were present. Four years later — no suspects. No justice. Two families still waiting.

Javier Mechaca and Juan Orozco were killed near the intersection of 1940 North Bullis Road and Pine Street in 2021 at a street takeover in Compton, CA.

This is what the so-called “reduction” looks like on the ground.

Street takeovers are not harmless car stunts. They are lawless gatherings that create perfect conditions for:

• shootings and fatalities

• chaos and stampedes

• looting and vandalism

• businesses being plundered

• residents being trapped in their own neighborhoods

When crowds scatter after gunfire and no one comes forward, it is proof that these events are out of control — and that enforcement, prevention, and accountability are failing.

And now, we are being asked to accept all of this without even having a Safety Commission in place.

Compton has at the present time no Safety Commissioner, leaving the city without independent public safety oversight at the very moment it is most needed. We are left with a vacuum — and that vacuum is being filled by spin, selective statistics, and political self-congratulation.

Political leaders may applaud feel-good reports. Law enforcement agencies may highlight percentage drops. But families burying their children do not live in spreadsheets.

The people of Compton and Los Angeles County are asking a simple question:

Are our leaders doing anything to END street takeovers — or are they managing the optics of them!

Because until these lawless events are stopped, until real deterrence exists, until oversight is restored, and until streets are reclaimed for residents — every new “report” rings hollow.

Two lives lost. Four years without answers. No Safety Commission. And an increasing number of street takeover–related crimes that remain unsolved for years, quietly piling up while communities are told things are “improving.”

Street takeovers are not decreasing — they are becoming more dangerous, more brazen, and potentially more deadly.

If you know something — about this case or any other unsolved crime connected to street takeovers — do the right thing. Silence has allowed violence to repeat itself again and again.

📞 LASD Homicide Bureau: (323) 890-5500

📞 LA Crime Stoppers (Anonymous): 1-800-222-8477

Justice delayed is justice denied.

Enough excuses.

Enough spin.

Our streets deserve real safety — not statistics.