Four arrested after motorcycle marriage proposal on 10 Freeway
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Four men were arrested last week in connection with a January stunt in which a group of motorcycle riders shut down the 10 Freeway in West Covina while a man proposed to his girlfriend.
Hector Martinez, 24, of Covina; Mike John David Gutierrez, 38, of Lynwood; Giovanni Mendez, 19, of La Puente; and Rudy Cadena, 24; were arrested Thursday on suspicion of misdemeanor public nuisance and unlawful assembly, the California Highway Patrol reported. Martinez, the man who proposed, was also booked on suspicion of exhibition of speed.
In an arrest report, the CHP said Martinez and 200 to 250 bikers blocked eastbound traffic near Barranca Street, at which point Martinez ‘performed a burn out for several seconds.’ Video images show a plume of pink smoke coming out of the bike.
‘Mr. Martinez then proposed to his passenger,’ the report said. ‘Several of the motorcyclists on scene applauded, videotaped and photographed the incident, which was posted on YouTube.’
After Martinez popped the question, the group went to a ‘motorcycle event’ at a nearby Hooters restaurant, the CHP said.
Video of the proposal went viral, and Martinez and his fiancee were interviewed -- and identified -- by several media outlets.
‘This event received media attention by way of the Internet, television, various newspapers and radio stations all over the country,’ the CHP said. ‘After a thorough investigation, four of the main individuals involved in this incident were identified.’ Online jail records indicated that Martinez, Mendez and Cadena were released later Thursday.
Days after the proposal, CHP Officer Jose Barrios told The Times that it was a first for L.A.’s freeways.
‘There’s a lot of odd things that happen on the freeway,’ Barrios said. ‘This doesn’t happen every day, obviously, otherwise it’d be a huge issue. We haven’t seen something like this.’
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-- Kate Mather
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