Squeeze Benz Arrested: Charges, Sentence, and Identity Dispute

Antonio Ginestri, the 19-year-old Queens YouTuber known online as Squeeze Benz, was arrested on May 16, 2024, by the NYPD and later charged in a multi-state crime spree that included burglaries, ATM thefts, and a designer handbag heist across New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut. In January 2026, he was sentenced to five years in New Jersey state prison, with additional cases still open in New York, two other New Jersey counties, and Connecticut.¹

What Led to the Arrest

Ginestri’s YouTube channel, with more than 735,000 subscribers, showed him running red lights, driving backward on one-way streets, doing donuts in Columbus Circle and Times Square, and circling police vehicles, usually in a full-face helmet.¹ The NYPD later called him “one of the most prolific street racers” in New York City.²

The arrest itself came out of a much smaller incident. On February 10, 2024, Ginestri allegedly punched a man inside the Steinway Deli in Long Island City. Officers from the NYPD’s 114th Precinct in Queens took him into custody on that assault charge on May 16, 2024, and he pleaded not guilty.²³ NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Operations Kaz Daughtry announced it publicly on May 21, writing on X that Squeeze.benz “can no longer treat the Big Apple like the Indy 500.”⁴ Ginestri was briefly released on bail.

The Newark Eluding Case

Around 1:16 a.m. on April 11, 2024, Newark officers in the Arts and Education District saw a black BMW with no license plates speeding around their patrol vehicle. The driver made an illegal turn from Market Street onto Broad Street and fled when they tried to stop him. Officers did not pursue, but they filed an eluding report.⁵

Detectives later identified Ginestri by matching the incident to social media videos he had posted of himself committing traffic violations around the tri-state area, then coordinated with the NYPD Auto Crimes Manhattan Unit to track him down.⁶

The New Jersey Burglary and ATM Charges

In July 2024, New Jersey authorities filed the charges that would drive the rest of the case. They centered on a February 6, 2024, break-in at a Speedway gas station on Route 46 East in Fairfield. Responding officers found no suspects on scene but identified a gray BMW X7 with stolen New Jersey registration and three occupants fleeing the area. The same vehicle was linked to burglaries that morning in Roseland, Secaucus, and Hasbrouck Heights.⁷

Prosecutors tied Ginestri to more than the break-ins. He was also connected to ATM thefts, including one at a Shell gas station on Route 17 North in Hasbrouck Heights on February 6 and another at a Dunkin’ Donuts in Garfield on February 9. The Garfield ATM contained about $4,000, and a Dunkin’ Donuts employee reported being kicked by Ginestri during the theft. In a separate January 27, 2024, incident, suspects broke the front window of a consignment store on West Railroad Avenue in Tenafly and took $38,950 in designer handbags; cellular data and surveillance footage placed his vehicle at the scene.⁸

The full New Jersey count against him included burglary, theft, two counts of conspiracy, and employing a juvenile in the commission of a crime. A 16-year-old co-defendant was charged with burglary, theft, and two counts of conspiracy. A third suspect was identified but had not been publicly charged as of the last reporting.⁷ Officials said the group had committed several other ATM burglaries in New Jersey and New York and were also wanted in Connecticut.⁸

Custody and Bail

By the summer of 2024, Ginestri was being held in the Bergen County Jail on what authorities described as unrelated charges.⁶ By August 2024, a judge had revoked bail as an option and no court date had been set.⁹ His attorney, Stefan J. Erwin, appealed the detention ruling.⁷

The Five-Year Sentence

In January 2026, Ginestri was sentenced to five years in New Jersey state prison. A Bergen County prosecutor said the sentence was negotiated in connection with a crime spree that included the theft of an ATM containing $4,000.¹

The sentence did not close out his exposure. As of Wired’s reporting, Ginestri still faced the open assault charge in New York, additional charges in two other New Jersey counties, and an outstanding warrant in Connecticut.¹ Separately, he had already pleaded guilty in March 2024 to possession of a stolen Yamaha motorcycle in New York and was ordered to pay $3,000 in restitution.³

The Dispute Over Whether Police Got the Right Person

One unresolved question runs through the case. After Ginestri was taken into custody, the Squeeze.benz YouTube channel kept posting new street-racing content for at least three months. A collaborator identified only as MBox, who described himself as Squeeze’s best friend and interpreter, told Wired that the NYPD had arrested the wrong man. “The real Squeeze is right next to me — he hasn’t been publicly identified,” MBox said. Ginestri’s attorney and associates maintained that he was not the person driving in the videos, while prosecutors pointed to evidence tying him to the vehicles and social media accounts connected to the crimes.¹

1
Wired. Anonymous YouTubers Street Racing Through New York
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NBC New York. YouTuber Squeeze Benz Charged in NJ Burglaries
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The Drive. Alleged Street Racer Squeeze Benz Busted After Evading Police for Months
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Newark Department of Public Safety. Queens New York Man Arrested for Eluding During Traffic Violations for Social Media Post
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NorthJersey.com. Squeeze Benz Street Racer NJ Burglaries Antonio Ginestri
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NJ.com. Speed Driving Social Media Influencer Arrested in Series of NJ Burglaries
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NJ.com. Daredevil Social Media Influencer Stole ATMs Across NJ, $38K in Handbags
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