The Orange County District Attorney’s Office has filed criminal charges against six additional parents and one adult sibling accused of allowing minors to illegally operate high-powered E-Motos on public streets, continuing an aggressive enforcement strategy that has rapidly expanded under District Attorney Todd Spitzer’s RIDE SAFELY unit. According to the OCDA, the latest cases involve children as young as nine years old and include incidents involving serious injuries, police pursuits, repeated warnings from officers, and allegations of ongoing reckless riding.
The new filings come just days after prosecutors announced charges against the parents of 13-year-old Benson Nguyen, who died in a Garden Grove crash after losing control of an E-Moto reportedly traveling more than 40 mph. Prosecutors allege the boy had a history of dangerous riding and that his father purchased a more powerful E-Moto despite previous warnings.
Charges and Potential Sentences
The most serious newly filed case involves Maria Dolores Roehling, who has been charged with one felony count of child endangerment and an infraction for allowing a minor to drive without a license. Prosecutors allege her 9-year-old son was riding an E-Moto capable of exceeding 47 mph when he was struck by a pickup truck in Yorba Linda. If convicted on all counts, she faces a maximum sentence of six years in state prison.
Alex Li faces one misdemeanor count of child endangerment after prosecutors allege his 11-year-old son suffered broken bones and an arterial bleed when his E-Moto collided with a pickup truck in Yorba Linda. Li faces up to one year in county jail.
Dan Mircea Rezmives has been charged with misdemeanor child endangerment, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, and allowing a child to drive without a license after police allegedly found his 12-year-old son operating a Surron E-Moto capable of traveling up to 50 mph. Prosecutors say both father and son had previously been warned. He faces a maximum sentence of one year in jail.
Hulin Guo and Xiaomin Wang each face misdemeanor child endangerment and contributing-to-delinquency charges after authorities allege they repeatedly ignored warnings regarding their son’s dangerous riding behavior. Prosecutors say the teenager’s E-Motos had previously been impounded and one was ultimately sold through a lien auction. Each parent faces up to one year in jail.
Tuan Nguyen faces a misdemeanor child endangerment charge after his 13-year-old son allegedly led Garden Grove police on a pursuit before crashing into a patrol vehicle. Prosecutors say the E-Moto involved was capable of reaching nearly 50 mph. The maximum exposure is one year in county jail.
In a separate case, Jose De Jesus Ramirezbarragan is charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor after allegedly allowing his 15-year-old brother to ride his E-Motorcycle. The juvenile subsequently led La Palma police on a pursuit before crashing. Ramirezbarragan also faces up to one year in jail if convicted.
OCDA’s Growing E-Moto Enforcement Campaign
The latest filings bring the number of parents charged by the OCDA’s RIDE SAFELY unit to at least 12 since January 2026. Prosecutors previously filed involuntary manslaughter charges against a mother after her 14-year-old son allegedly struck and killed an 81-year-old Vietnam veteran in Lake Forest while illegally operating an E-Moto. That defendant faces a maximum sentence of seven years and eight months in state prison.
The district attorney has repeatedly argued that many of today’s high-powered E-Motos are not legally e-bikes at all, but motorcycles or motor-driven cycles that require registration, licensing, insurance, and appropriate safety equipment when operated on public roads.
E-Moto and E-Bike Safety Concerns in Orange County
According to the OCDA, more than 125 deaths nationwide have been linked to E-Bikes and E-Motos. The agency also reports that E-Bike and E-Moto injuries are now the leading reason children end up in Orange County emergency rooms and that such injuries have increased more than 430% in Southern California during the last four years. Children between ages 11 and 14 account for approximately 61.7% of E-Moto crashes despite riders under 16 generally being prohibited from operating these vehicles.
A June 2026 report by Voice of OC noted that cities across Orange County have been increasing enforcement efforts while schools and local governments debate restrictions aimed at reducing crashes and injuries.
Orange County Cities Seeing the Most E-Moto Enforcement Activity
No countywide public database currently ranks E-Bike and E-Moto arrests by city. However, based on OCDA criminal filings, publicized enforcement actions, injury investigations, and police pursuit cases announced during 2026, the cities appearing most frequently in major E-Moto enforcement incidents include:
- Garden Grove
- Yorba Linda
- Newport Beach
- Orange
- La Palma
Other cities frequently appearing in high-profile E-Moto incidents include Lake Forest, Huntington Beach, and La Habra. This list reflects publicly reported enforcement and charging activity rather than an official arrest ranking.
Insurance Consequences Could Be Severe
Parents facing criminal exposure may soon discover that the legal case is only the beginning of their financial problems.
Insurance experts generally warn that crashes involving illegally operated E-Motos can trigger substantial civil liability. If a child injures a pedestrian, cyclist, or motorist, parents may face lawsuits alleging negligent supervision, negligent entrustment, or other claims. Homeowners and umbrella insurance policies sometimes provide limited protection, but coverage disputes frequently arise when vehicles are illegally operated or fall outside policy definitions.
Families involved in injury crashes may also face:
- Higher auto insurance premiums
- Increased umbrella liability insurance costs
- Potential denial of coverage for certain claims
- Personal liability for medical expenses, lost wages, and pain-and-suffering awards
- Difficulty obtaining future insurance coverage
Those risks become especially significant when a high-powered E-Moto capable of 40 to 60 mph is involved in a collision causing catastrophic injuries or death.
A New Era of Parental Accountability
The latest prosecutions make clear that Orange County authorities are no longer treating illegal E-Moto riding as a simple juvenile traffic problem. Prosecutors are increasingly looking beyond the young riders and focusing on the adults who purchase, permit, or facilitate the use of these powerful machines. With criminal charges now ranging from misdemeanor child endangerment to involuntary manslaughter, parents who ignore repeated warnings from law enforcement face the possibility of jail time, felony convictions, civil lawsuits, and significant financial consequences. As the OCDA’s expanding caseload demonstrates, Orange County’s E-Moto crackdown is showing no signs of slowing down.