SANTA ANA (CNS) - A 21-year-old Los Angeles man pleaded guilty Thursday and was immediately sentenced to six months in jail for a fix-it ticket scheme for illegal street racers in Los Angeles and Orange counties, according to court records.
Angel Zahid Sanchez-Peralta pleaded guilty to 34 counts of attempting to file a false or forged instrument and a count of attempting to procure or offer a false or forged instrument, all felonies, according to court records.
The dates of the violations range from October 2020 through January 2022, according to the criminal complaint.
Sanchez-Peralta also pleaded guilty to driving without a valid driver's license and reckless driving, both misdemeanors, for an incident on Nov. 16, 2020, according to court records.
California Highway Patrol officials said Sanchez-Peralta signed off on more than 250 citations issued during street racing events in Los Angeles and Orange counties. Sanchez-Peralta, an alleged promoter of the dangerous, impromptu gatherings, would charge $300 for phony documents that would show citations were fixed, CHP Officer Jake Sanchez said.
When motorists are cited for a minor violation such as not displaying a vehicle registration tag on a license plate, they can go to a local law enforcement office and show it has been fixed, and when an officer signs off on it, the proof can be shown in court and the citation dismissed.
Sanchez-Peralta obtained stamps with names of current and retired CHP officers and sold the bogus proof so illegal street racers could avoid having to pay thousands of dollars to fix unlawful modifications of vehicles, Sanchez said.
Most of the citations were for the modifying of engines and motors to make them more powerful and noisier, Sanchez said. Some of the citations were for emissions, so the phony documents allowed motorists to avoid getting vehicles smog-checked, Sanchez added.
CHP officials closely monitor social media to chase down leads on where illegal street racing takes place, so they also took notice of Sanchez- Peralta's advertisement for his services, CHP Officer Anselmo Templado said.
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