"Steal Steal Again" joke

S T. C R O I X F A L L S, Wis.? If at first you don't succeed, steal, steal again.

At least that's what police say a Minnesota man did after they foiled his alleged felony theft of a St. Croix Falls, Wis., Wal-Mart store.

James Casarez was charged with shoplifting a toy car, pellet pistol, phone and other items from the store last June, and possessing items that could be used to set up a methamphetamine lab. The 36-year-old man then swiped the items again, this time from the police station, authorities said.

Two days after Casarez was arrested and released, St. Croix Falls police found a window smashed at the station, and an officer reported that the goods allegedly stolen by Casarez were missing.

After an investigation, police charged Casarez with burglarizing the police station, St. Croix Falls Police Officer Erin Murphy said.

"It could happen anywhere," Murphy said, "and he was caught."

Apparently, Casarez saw police from another jurisdiction? a nearby park? helping St. Croix Falls police transport the allegedly stolen items to the police station, and he got confused.

"He later said he was breaking into a park office," Murphy said. "He said if he thought it was a police station he never would have broken into it."