A man who was being detained in an Ottawa police cruiser during a theft investigation has been re-arrested after he stole the car and drove away, police say.

The 38-year-old man had charges for theft over $5,000, dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, disqualified operation of a motor vehicle and failure to stop for police added to a string of other counts after he was taken into custody for the second time on Tuesday afternoon, Ottawa police Staff Sgt. Don Sweet said Wednesday.

The other charges against him include two counts of theft under $5,000.

The man was originally handcuffed and placed in the back of a marked police car at the Bayshore Shopping Centre in Ottawa’s west end around 5:00 p.m. ET, according to a statement from Ottawa police.

Sweet said he would not confirm what method the man used to steal the police car.

However, the Ottawa Citizen newspaper reported that the man managed to squeeze through the sliding glass partition separating the rear seats from the driver’s seat before driving off.

Police found the car six minutes later, then used dogs to track, find and re-arrest the suspect, the statement said.