LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) says a suspect linked to street racing incidents in Louisville also connects to an intersection takeover across state lines.
Quience Waddell, 22, of Louisville, is accused of street racing near Shawnee and Cox Parks. He was arrested by police Wednesday night and was released on bond until his next court date.
He's charged with first-degree wanton endangerment, racing a motor vehicle on a public highway, first-degree fleeing/evading police, and obscuring the identity of a machine $10,000 or more.
In a news conference Friday, LMPD Lt. Craig Browning showed reporters the Dodge Charger the say Waddell was driving in multiple incidents breaking the law. He credited Louisville's street racing ordinance, implemented in late 2022, for the arrest.
"There was no police chase, there was no violence, there was no fighting -- We were able to take a car, two firearms and 200 rounds of restricted ammo out of the community without any type of escalation or need of force," he said.
LMPD said it's known about Waddell's street racing activities since last September.
According to his arrest citation, surveillance video at Shawnee Park showed Waddell doing doughnuts at an intersection of the park on Sept. 24, 2023. Authorities said he had multiple passengers in the vehicle, some of whom were hanging out of the windows "in danger of falling out of the vehicle."
Police said other pedestrians were near the intersection and were in danger of being hit by the vehicle. The citation said the car's license plate was caught on the video and was traced back to Waddell.
Months later, on Jan. 5, the citation said LMPD was notified by the Cincinnati Police Department about a "street racing take-over" event in Louisville that Waddell was reportedly going to be involved with.
LMPD said a similar event happened in Cincinnati a week prior and someone had fired multiple rounds from an AR-style pistol. A flyer for the Louisville event showed it would happen near Cox's Park and Zorn Avenue.
When LMPD arrived at the street take-over on Jan. 5, officers attempted to conduct a traffic stop on Waddell's car, but he allegedly ignored their sirens and fled down River Road. Police noted that Waddell's car did not have any visible license plate or tags, but it did have his personal Instagram handle on the rear of the vehicle.
Authorities later found the vehicle on Jan. 8 in the 3300 block of Lester Avenue and it was towed to LMPD's Crime Scene Unit with a search warrant.
Waddell was present for the seizure and gave officers the keys to the car. He also asked to remove his firearms from the vehicle, according to the citation. LMPD said a search of the vehicle found multiple firearms, explosives, armor piercing ammunition, drug paraphernalia, drug packaging, face masks and high-capacity magazines.
On Thursday, Waddell's bond was set at $10,000, which he posted the same day. He will be back in court on Jan. 26.
According to LMPD's release, Cincinnati Police specifically contacted LMPD about a "local street racing club" from Louisville.
When WHAS11 asked if this 'club' is connected to other incidents happening in the city, Lt. Browning told us he can't rule it out, but also can't comment on it.
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