Police arrest alleged organizer of chaotic Philly car meetups

Philadelphia Police announced the arrests of two more men in connection to a series of chaotic car meetups that occurred in a seven-hour span in Philadelphia last month in which officers were attacked, fires were set and vehicles were vandalized.

Joseph Cavanaugh, 21, of Levittown, Pennsylvania, and James Hare, 20, of Philadelphia, were both arrested on Friday, Oct. 25.

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Cavanaugh, who was arrested on Coral Lane in Levittown, is charged with aggravated assault, causing risking catastrophe, criminal mischief, RIOT, criminal conspiracy, recklessly endangering another person, simple assault, fleeing a police officer, disorderly conduct-hazard and reckless driving.

Hare, who was arrested on Bustleton Avenue in Philadelphia, is charged with causing risking catastrophe, RIOT, recklessly endangering another person, criminal conspiracy, possessing an instrument of crime, fleeing a police officer, criminal mischief, disorderly conduct-hazard and reckless driving.

Police described Cavanaugh of the organizer of the car meetups and Hare as a participant.

A night of chaos

The car meetups took place between the night of Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024, and the early morning hours of Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024.

The first meetup began Sept. 21, at 9:30 p.m. on the 7400 block of Bustleton Avenue where around 50 cars were involved, police said. One of the drivers involved tried to evade police and drove directly at officers, crashing into a civilian’s vehicle in the process, investigators said. That man – later identified as 25-year-old Deonte Vincent – was arrested and charged in the incident.

The second meetup occurred at 11:47 p.m. on 20^th Street and Pattison Avenue where over 100 vehicles were involved in reckless driving and drifting, police said.

Then, at midnight, a police officer spotted a silver Nissan doing donuts in the middle of the street in the area of Columbus Boulevard and Pattison Avenue. The Nissan then moved towards the officer’s vehicle, police said. The officer managed to get out of the way and then followed the Nissan until it struck a pole on 300 Pattison Avenue, investigators said. Four males then fled from the Nissan.

At 1:30 a.m., police responded to a report of gunshots on 25^th Street and Washington Avenue. When they arrived, they were met by a woman who said several cars were in the intersection when she was attacked by another woman and a man who threw an orange traffic cone at her, knocking her to the ground. As the woman spoke with the officers, they heard another gunshot coming from the direction of cars in the street. The vehicles fled the area and police recovered a spent shell casing and a live round.

At 2:25 a.m., police responded to 11^th Street and Grange Avenue where there was an unruly crowd of people and a large group of cars. The responding officers were unable to disperse the crowd and were briefly surrounded, police said. One of the officers then called for backup and the crowd was dispersed once more police arrived. There were no reports of injuries, arrests or property damage at that location.

At 4 a.m., police responded to Island and Bartram avenues where over 200 cars were involved in drag racing and drifting. The officers were attacked and a police vehicle was damaged, investigators said. The crowd dispersed once more police arrived.

Finally, at 4:33 a.m., officers responded to 15^th and Market streets in Center City where more than 100 cars were drifting and members of a crowd were setting rubbish fires, investigators said. The responding officers were attacked and multiple police vehicles were damaged with broken windshields and flattened tires, police said.

Despite the arrests, police continue to investigate all of the incidents that occurred. If you have any information, call Philadelphia Police at 215-686-TIPS (8477).

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