YouTubers charged with illegal street racing conspiracy in Orange County

Rushdan Abdallah’s videos on YouTube have been watched millions of times and offer an in-depth look at southern California car culture: being caught in the middle of a police chase, testing new models of vehicles, and racing with other drivers while the camera is rolling (the odometer is blurry ).

But in December, Abdallah’s site – with more than 220,000 subscribers – was suddenly shut down. After weeks with no new videos, Abdallah said he needed to “update” and revealed what was going on: Police had recently arrived at his Lake Forest residence with a search warrant.

“They just showed up one morning, knocked on the door and towed both cars,” said Abdallah. Two YouTuber colleagues also had their homes searched by the police, he said.

“I’m in tears. I haven’t had my cars in over 100 days and that’s crazy to think about,” he said, adding, “I love my channel, I love my cars and I love the videos to share with you. “

The criminal investigation against Abdallah became clearer this week when the Irvine Police Department arrested the 26-year-old and four others and accused them of conspiracy to participate in illegal Orange County street races.

Prosecutors said the men ran races through Irvine, Tustin, Lake Forest and Foothill Ranch, mostly on toll roads 241 and 261 – at speeds of up to 160 mph.

“Nobody driving our roads should suddenly find themselves in the middle of a NASCAR race driven by amateurs who are not trained or qualified enough to drive vehicles that are reaching their mechanical limits,” Orange County said Dist. Atty. Todd Spitzer in a statement.

“Road races are irresponsible,” he said, “it is dangerous and shows a total disregard for the lives of everyone involved, including the participants, the spectators and the innocent bystanders.”

Neither Abdallah nor Randy Sarmiento, the defense attorney listed on the court records, responded to comments. Abdallah was released on bail of $ 20,000 and a judge ordered him not to drive this week. His next appearance in court is in April.

Street racing is a growing problem with law enforcement and community members. Road races resulted in the death of an Orange County Register editor that summer, and one man died and two injured in so-called “road takeovers” that fall in Costa Mesa and Anaheim. A Los Angeles Times investigation found that 179 people were killed in speed competitions in LA County from 2000 to 2017.

In the YouTubers’ case, the Irvine police investigation into the coordinated road race lasted about six months, beginning around January 31, 2020, when prosecutors alleged Abdallah and Sean Stuart, 36, drove each other through Orange County.

In the months that followed, Abdallah allegedly met two residents of La Verne, Aaron Hamed Waseeq and Daniel Rodriguez, and Saeid Lachin, a Fullerton resident, for illegal races on the two toll roads.

Abdallah, Waseeq and Rodriguez have each posted videos of their driving performance on their YouTube pages. Prosecutors said Abdallah also asked his spectators to provide competitors for street racing.

For Abdallah, such videos were a source of popularity and income.

“A lot of people don’t understand that you can make a very good living off YouTube if you know how to properly monetize your channel,” he said in a February 2020 clip. He said a channel his size had revenues between 10,000 and 50,000 US dollars a month that he used for his cars and film equipment.

“Content is key on YouTube,” he said.

Prosecutors said Abdallah’s alleged participation in the illegal street races occurred while he was already on bail because he escaped police forces during a November 2019 persecution.

If convicted of the six crimes and twelve offenses, he faces more than eight years in prison.

Waseeq, Lachin, and Rodriguez were each charged with two road racing-related crimes and additional offenses related to reckless driving and aiding and abetting a road race. If convicted, there is a risk of up to three years and eight months in prison.

Stuart, who was charged with a contest conspiracy and two offenses, faces a prison sentence of up to three years.

The last video Abdallah posted on his channel Rush Shift was on Christmas Eve.

He was at a gas station refueling a red C8 Corvette and then visited two other YouTubers who were indicted this week. He promised at the time: “They are celebrating a comeback.”