- Kayla Sanchez, 35, charged with obstruction and theft in Salt Lake City.
- Sanchez was allegedly involved in incident where Tyson Babb was shot and killed on Jan. 13.
- Shane Hagaman is accused of shooting Babb while Babb was stealing his e-bike; Hagaman is charged with murder.
SALT LAKE CITY — A Salt Lake woman who police say was with a man who was shot and killed while stealing a bicycle is now facing criminal charges tied to the incident.
Kayla Sanchez, 35, was charged Tuesday in 3rd District Court with obstruction of justice, a second-degree felony, and theft, a third-degree felony.
On Jan. 13, Tyson Scott Babb, 42, was stealing an e-bike just before 5 a.m. from a residence near 750 S. 1300 East, according to police. The bicycle owner, Shane Hagaman, 23, shot Babb from the second floor as Babb was riding off, charges say. Hagaman is accused of firing eight times, striking Babb once in the back.
Babb dropped the bicycle after being shot and got into a pickup truck. He was driven to a local hospital by another person, where he died a short time later from his injuries.
Hagaman was charged with murder, a first-degree felony, and seven counts of discharge of a firearm, a third-degree felony.
Later in the day on Jan. 13, police spotted the pickup that had taken Babb to the hospital and dropped him off. Officers "attempted to follow the truck, but the driver accelerated on Indiana Avenue and drove into oncoming traffic, weaving between heavy traffic in both the eastbound and westbound lanes of travel. (Police) lost sight of the truck near Navajo and Emery streets," according to charging documents.
Detectives searching the area later found the abandoned vehicle near 400 South and 1000 West.
On Jan. 19, investigators questioned Sanchez, who "admitted she had been driving the Tacoma on the morning of Jan. 13," the charges state. "Sanchez said she and (Babb) had driven through the Avenues the night before the shooting, looking for a bike to steal. They spotted the bike at the house on 1300 East and went back later to steal it."
Sanchez says she parked at a nearby convenience store as Babb went to take the e-bike. She says he was shot as he was riding the bike back to where she had parked, the charges state.
"Sanchez later observed some blood on the side of the truck and was worried that someone would see it, so she went to a car wash near Redwood Road and cleaned it," according to the charges.
Prosecutors say Sanchez is currently being held in the Utah County Jail for a separate incident.
