Police arrested a man who allegedly stole a police cruiser after being arrested for burglary.
Investigators say Kenneth Botke of Pocono Summit, Pa., faces several charges including escape and theft of a police vehicle.
Police say Botke, 20, was handcuffed and placed in the back of a police cruiser Saturday night after allegedly being caught in the act of burglarizing a home on Nadine Boulevard in Stillwater Lake Estates.
Troy Silliman told WBRE-TV that Botke broke into his home and pulled out what appeared to be a 9-millimeter handgun and asked him for a ride.
“Me and my wife were sitting down and somebody walked in our house and he told us weren’t going to get hurt. (He said) he just needed a place to hide from police (because) they were going to kill him. I said “nobody’s going to kill you if you put that gun down,” said Silliman.
Silliman says he went outside to his car with the suspect which gave his wife time to call police.
“Then the police came out of the woods and some from the street and we snuck around the house to get out of the way and that’s when they put him down with a taser,” said Silliman
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Botke was arrested and placed in the back of the cruiser. Police say while obtaining statements from Silliman, Botke was able break free of his handcuffs and get into the driver's seat. Investigators say there was a shotgun inside the car, the station reports.
The suspect drove a short distance before abandoning the police car, according to police.
Dozens of police officers and K-9 units searched for Botke for 14 hours. He was eventually caught Sunday afternoon, according to the police chief. Police recoverd the shotgun.
