Crime & Safety

Macungie's 'Bonnie & Clyde' Used Heroin, Police Say

The Macungie couple accused of stealing two police cars and leading a wild chase through Camden and Philadelphia are heroin users, according to police.

The Macungie couple accused of stealing two patrol cars and causing mayhem in Camden and Philadelphia last week are heroin users, according to police in a Philly.com report. A police chief called them a "junkie" version of Bonnie and Clyde.

Shayna Sykes and Blake Bills—who have a seven-month-old child—are jailed on a slew of charges following their alleged brazen escapades.

The two have a history of heroin use and were seen trying to buy heroin in Camden two days before they allegedly instigated a wild police chase from New Jersey across the Ben Franklin Bridge and through the streets of Philadelphia, according to authorities.

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Part of the chase was caught on video and shows what police say is before she was arrested.

A 2012 Reuters report said U.S. drug abusers may be more likely to use heroin because a new formulation of OxyContin has made it harder to snort, inject or smoke.

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Heroin is a cheaper hit than prescription pain killers. A 2011 McClatchy report says the drug's former inner-city image has been revamped into a narcotic "that can be snorted or smoked, appealing to suburban and even rural high school youth."

About 3.7 million people used heroin at some time in their lives, according to a national drug use study in 2003.


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