A man awaiting trial on suspicion of stealing a police car stole another one, police say

• A man in Wisconsin was arrested last Tuesday after police say he stole a squad car.
• Police say he was arrested after being found hiding in a nearby gym.

A man in Wisconsin awaiting trial on suspicion of stealing a police squad car stole another one last week, according to police.

Daniel Barton, the 34-year-old suspect, was initially arrested in December in Milwaukee after a police officer alleged that he stole his vehicle during a traffic stop, per local media outlet WMTV.

Barton was charged with taking or driving a vehicle without the owner's consent, with court records showing that he was issued with a warrant in February for failing to appear in court.

According to a complaint reviewed by WMTV, Barton was "giggling" as he drove off and was later found hiding in a garbage can.

Despite being in the midst of legal proceedings, police arrested Barton again on Tuesday, for what they said was yet another incident involving the theft of a squad car.

Video from Shorewood Police Department, published by several local media outlets, shows a squad car zooming past police officers while they were conducting a traffic stop at around 6 p.m. last Tuesday.

"Someone just stole my squad, westbound on Capitol," an unknown police officer, seemingly in shock, can be heard saying in the video.

"It's that same person that stole an MPD squad before," another officer said, per WMTV.

Police officers later found the car abandoned a short distance away, with nobody in it, according to WITI. A short time later, Barton was found hiding inside a gym and was arrested, per WMTV.

He was taken into custody, with court records showing that he was charged with a misdemeanor of driving or operating a car without the consent of the owner.

A pre-trial conference is scheduled for July 5.

Veronica Serher, an eyewitness, told WITI that people were laughing about the situation. "It's not the sort of thing that should happen twice," she told the local media outlet.

"I feel like it'd be hard to steal a car, much less a police car, and the fact that it happened twice is wild," Isabella Puls, another eyewitness, said, per WITI.

Shorewood Police Department did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.