Crime Scenes

Woman Who Stole Two Police Cars and Led Cops on a High-Speed Multi-State Chase Used to Work at P.Y.T.

Busted: Blake Bills and Shayna Sykes
Busted: Blake Bills and Shayna Sykes Photo: Facebook

As further evidence that Piazza at Schmidt’s was built atop some sort of lodestone that attracts those prone to high crimes and controversy, word comes today that Shayna Sykes, the 23-year-old woman who with boyfriend Blake Bills stole not one, but two police cruisers yesterday and led cops on an interstate high-speed chase that could’ve been ripped right off the screen from a summer blockbuster, used to work at P.Y.T. In a little more than three years, the sprawling experiment in urban renewal has been home to the high-profile killing of Rian Thal and Timothy Gilmore, tangentially connected to the tragic murder of Sabina Rose O’Donnell (also a P.Y.T. employee), and the shooting death of Maurice Kimble after an altercation with another patron at P.Y.T. spun out of control.

According to the good folks at Philebrity, Sykes worked at the burger bar in the summer of 2011, and was fixture in the crowd that held court at the Piazza and neighboring (and now defunct) Arrow Swim Club. After falling out of that circle, and ending her stint at P.Y.T., she presumably moved to Macungie, PA, had a baby, and got her act together. But based on yesterday’s events, clearly that last part never happened. Here’s hoping this latest incident is last of the tragic and bizarre misadventures to be tied to the Northern Liberties complex.

Yes, I Am Facebook Friends With Shayna Sykes [Philebrity]
Suspects Charged In Wild Camden-Philly Police Chase Involving Stolen Cop Cars [CBS Philly]

Woman Who Stole Two Police Cars and Led Cops on a High-Speed Multi-State Chase