Teen street racer doubled speed limit without license

A teenaged street racer sped his way into a jail cell Sunday night on Maricopa’s main road. 

Maricopa Police Department said the 19-year-old man they arrested doubled the speed limit during a makeshift Maricopa Grand Prix late at night. His roadway rival ratted him out and didn’t face charges. 

A probable cause statement obtained by InMaricopa detailed the incident.   

Just after 1:30 a.m., police saw two vehicles burning rubber on southbound North John Wayne Parkway. An officer turned around near West Edison Road and tried to catch up to the racers — a white sedan and gray Ford Mustang. Police estimated the two vehicles were going over 60 miles per hour in a 35-mile-per-hour zone. 

Cops caught up with the cars near West Bowlin Road where they tried to split ways, according to police documents. 

Officers contacted the driver of the Mustang, Johnny R. Morales — the same 19-year-old they pulled over the previous night for the same reason. 

A review of public records shows Morales’ driver’s license was criminally suspended for failing to pay for damages in a previous accident or carry car insurance. 

Police contacted the driver of the white sedan but didn’t release her name and age. She wasn’t arrested. 

The woman told officers she was going 75 miles per hour before she was pulled over and that Morales was going faster than her. 

Morales was arrested and booked into Pinal County jail on a triple whammy: Racing on a highway, criminal speed and driving on a suspended license. 

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