Local Neighborhood Terrorized by Illegal Car Burnout Pit
Car Clubs Flooded Yards and Roads To Participate in Unsafe Event
The Carter-Spencer Road area of Clay County has a long-standing unsavory, unruly reputation. Recently, one local family raised the bar to a whole new level.
From February 28th through March 1st, residents of Range Line Road were terrorized by two days of loud music, roaring car engines, and unruly visitors. Hundreds of cars poured onto Range Line Road, parking in the road and in the yards of residents up and down the street.
Dubbed a “Florida WarZone”, the event was hosted at a house that recently poured an 80’ by 80’ concrete slab for the purposes of hosting “legal” burnout events.
These events feature cars with loudly tuned exhausts driving in circles while squealing their tires. One person described “legal pits” as events where “people with low IQ get dizzy from driving in circles.”
Despite being promoted as a family-friendly event, this particular event appears to have been the opposite. Clay News & Views was contacted by people affected by the noise, traffic, and bad behavior of attendees, including the event organizer.
The Instagram account “mopar.904.28” organized and promoted the event, and Clay News & Views traced the account to Jonathan Sheldon, a resident of Range Line Road.
While Sheldon posted on multiple occasions that the pit he built was “legal,” its actual status is unclear. Clay News & Views contacted the county and Sheriff Michele Cook to determine whether any permits or legal permissions were granted for the event. Sources within the county government advised that the event was unpermitted and would not have been compatible with the area’s rural residential zoning had a permit been sought.
The Sheriff’s Office did not respond to multiple inquiries about the status of the event. But one video posted by Sheldon features a sheriff’s deputy at the burnout pit before the event. The deputy appears to endorse the event as legal and adds that he wishes he could be part of it. Be advised that the video contains music with explicit lyrics.
A later post from the “904.mopar.28” account indicated that a detective from CCSO had inspected the burnout pit and given approval. Another Instagram account, “theregoespeely” aka “Banana Man,” replied to an inquiry from CN&V, and also insisted CCSO had a detective come out and approve and sanction the event.
Mr. Banana confirmed he was in attendance at the event and stated that over 500 people were there to watch and participate. He added that he didn’t care if the neighbors were upset, and that if the “legal pit” was shut down, the people who attended would start illegal street takeovers in Clay County in retaliation.
Once he grew tired of being asked questions, Banana Man threatened to bring the first illegal takeover in Clay to the street where CN&V reporter Josh Allen lives. Apparently, his IQ was high enough to complete a simple Google search.
Despite the claims from the two Instagram accounts, it is unclear whether a CCSO detective inspected the pit or approved the event, as Clay News & Views was unable to independently corroborate.
Residents adjacent to the event described two days of chaos, noise, threats, harassment by attendees, topped off with the choking stench of burning rubber and marijuana filling the air.
Car clubs from as far away as Detroit flooded the neighborhood, parking along the street and in neighbors' yards, blocking driveways, damaging property, and leaving trash behind.
During the event, people unsafely hung out of car windows, from sunroofs, and hung onto the exterior of the cars while they spun in circles. Several videos showed near-miss accidents during the event.
Events like this are often supported and promoted by regional and local car clubs, and a group from Tampa called the “813Sliderz” was heavily involved in the Clay County event.
Car clubs like these are often involved in illegal street takeovers, where club members block intersections on public roads and perform dangerous burnouts and stunts, holding up traffic.
Car clubs are also known to be involved in other illegal activities, including drugs and violence. Some have described the groups as more like biker gangs than actual car clubs, with conflicts between clubs sometimes erupting into violence. Recently in Tampa, an illegal intersection takeover led to a 100 mph chase and multiple felony arrests.
While the event raged on over the weekend, residents living near the event called the Sheriff’s Office to complain about the noise, asking that the county’s noise ordinance be enforced.
No action was taken to shut down the event or limit the noise, but CCSO did amass a presence at a nearby elementary school. Via their Facebook page and the SaferWatch app, they advised that they were monitoring a “planned event” and claimed there was no threat to the public.
Undeterred by pushback from neighbors, Jonathan Sheldon, 813Sliderz, and the Banana Man have already planned another event for the weekend of April 4th.
Unfortunately for Sheldon, the county has finally taken notice of the illegal and disruptive events and is exploring actions to prevent future ones.
The pit is located in County Commissioner Betsy Condon’s district. Condon offered her perspective when asked for comment:
“I absolutely want all of our residents to feel safe and peaceful in their homes. I think the situation on Range Line is unacceptable. At this point, I don’t want to say more except to say we are doing all that we can within county ordinances & state statutes to address all illegal activity. I ask that anyone with concerns & questions continue to reach out and we appreciate your patience letting our legal process to take its course.”