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GREENSBORO - The tally of people arrested in connection with a weekend street racing probe in and near High Point is up to 25. But people charged with racing-related crimes statewide are rarely found guilty of the original charges.

"It's not the easiest offense to prove," said Guilford County District Attorney Doug Henderson.

But, Henderson said, the charges resulting from this investigation may be different.

Undercover troopers used secret informants and hidden cameras to collect evidence that the races were prearranged - a charge that means instant seizure of the vehicle suspected of being involved in racing.

"Those cases are going to be different than the ones where an officer sees two cars going down the highway side by side at a high rate of speed," Henderson said.

The operation was a months-long investigation with a three-week undercover operation that culminated with a round-up of suspected racers late Saturday night and into Sunday morning. It resulted in 33 people charged with more than 100 crimes. By Wednesday, 25 of those had been arrested on charges of prearranged speed competition, reckless driving and other traffic violations.

People charged since Saturday include:

Jordan Ross Biddy, Jarrod Scott Bivins, William Edgar Bowen, Tyler Clay Brann, Andrew Lee Bridges, Matthew Ryan Brown, Raymond Joel Cornine III, Daniel Ralph Ellis, Bradley Wayne Everhart, Jay Mitchell Hansen, John Carl Hernandez, Colby Joel Howard, Michael Todd Landen, Christopher Bryant Long, Brandon Adam Moran, Woodrow Scott Morris, Monico Macario Morales Sanchez, Andrew Ryan See, Christopher Manuel Simpson, Cody Matthew Sisk, Jonathan Wayne Smith, Steven Isaac Stringer, Justin Wade Tolbert, Joaquin Novis Villalon and John Henry Weatherman, according to the Highway Patrol.

The operation yielded more charges of prearranged racing than the 23 Guilford County has seen in the past five years combined. But in the same time period, there have only been five convictions on those charges. Charges for the operation were divided between Forsyth and Guilford counties.

William Reavis, a Guilford County assistant district attorney, said even defendants who are not convicted of charges connected to racing can be held accountable.

Prosecutors will sometimes dismiss racing charges - misdemeanors - if the defendant also has been charged with a felony. And in plea agreements, prosecutors can still seek to have cars used in racing seized or destroyed, Reavis said.

"These people are often charged with many crimes," Reavis said. "It's a matter of looking at what the most dangerous crime is."

"Prearranged speed competition is dangerous and I don't think anyone will dispute that," Reavis said. But he added, "In criminal justice as a whole, you have to look at the big picture."

Contact Sonja Elmquist at 373-7090 or sonja.elmquist@news-record.com