[STOLEN] Car Thief in Stolen C5 Corvette Leads Police on High Speed Chase In Two States

What’s the difference between major damage and minor damage to a Corvette?

It’s major damage when the Corvette is yours … and minor damage when it belongs to someone else.’

That spinoff on the old “major/minor surgery” joke seems to fit well in the case of this yellow C5 coupe stolen in Shreveport, La., on Thursday night that finally ended the next day virtually where it had all started – albeit after a chase through two states.

“No injured officers, no injured public, a little public property damage, a little damage to the Corvette down in the ditch, but all in all it went pretty well although we had always just assumed that they would stop and be taken into custody immediately without all this,” is how Chief Shayne Gibson of the Greenwood (La.) Police Department summarized the chase to a KTBS-TV reporter.

“All this” started when the Corvette was stolen in Shreveport, La., Thursday night and tracked the next day to Greenwood, La., where the alleged thief drove backward down U.S. 80 in an attempt to get away from authorities. He then pulled into the 18-wheeler parking lot at a Love’s Truck Stop, with four patrol units still in hot pursuit.

According to a news release from the Greenwood Police Department, at the truck stop, the Corvette “drove forward, striking two patrol units, and turned east onto U.S. Hwy. 80 before turning south onto U.S. Hwy. 79.”

The chase then continued into Panola County and Harrison County in Texas before boomeranging back to I-20 and heading east back towards Louisiana.

A Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Office deputy finally brought the chase to an end with the use of spike strips to deflate the Corvette’s tires, and with the help of a K9 dog, lawmen were able to arrest the subject at the intersection of U.S. 79 and U.S. 80, only 300 feet from where the incident all began!

Skylar Lee Alexander Dykes of Keithville, La., faces multiple charges from the Greenwood Police Department, including aggravated flight from an officer, hit-and-run driving, illegal possession of stolen things, criminal damage to property, violation of a protective order, reckless operation and improper backing. A reporter for KTBS-TV says more charges will likely be filed from other jurisdictions where the chase entered.

As for the stolen car, the Corvette now appears to be winking, with the headlamp cover torn loose and the nearby front fender on the passenger side suffering scrapes and tears.

Source:
ktbs.com and Shreveport Times

Related:
[STOLEN] Joyride in Unattended C6 Corvette Grand Sport Ends With Crash Through a Fence
[STOLEN] Michigan Police Recover a 1981 Corvette Stolen 38 Years Ago
[STOLEN] Red C6 Corvette Left Running at a 7-Eleven is Easy Pickings for Car Thief