Arthur W. Buckel was arrested several times after his 2010 release from prison, news clippings and public records show.
Although Arthur Buckel -- the man who allegedly stole a car to escape from a prison satellite unit this week -- was only a few weeks away from parole eligibility when he ran off, he had been in trouble with the law on and off since his teen years.
Arthur W. Buckel (NJDOC). Buckel, who left a minimum-security satellite Bayside Prison unit located on the grounds of Ancora Hospital in Winslow, was discovered missing at 6 a.m. Tuesday during a bed check. Police say he drove a stolen Chevy Silverado to Barnegat Township. There, a massive manhunt was still underway by Thursday morning, more than 48 hours after Buckel ran off from the Camden County facility.
Police previously believed Buckel was trying to make his way to a distant relative in Berkeley Township, roughly 11 miles from Barnegat, but said that lead had turned into a dead end by Wednesday evening.
Buckel's first time being incarcerated was his most serious. He was convicted of manslaughter in 1996. Files from the Jersey Journal show that he admitted striking his girlfriend's baby, Caitlin Colon, "five or six times" because she was crying during a 1995 Labor Day weekend visit. He was just 18 years old at the time, and living in Jersey City. The baby's mother was a Barnegat resident.
Buckel was sentenced to a maximum of 25 years in prison for the 10-month-old's death, and was released from prison after 14 years on June 30, 2010.
In 2013, a northjersey.com police blotter said, an "Arthur Buckle" was charged with shoplifting just under $900 worth of goods from a Target store in Clifton.
An NJ Advance Media article from February of 2015 indicates that Buckel was charged with drug possession and burglary in Wayne, though his name is again spelled "Buckle" and his age is listed as 40.
Buckel, who lived in Clifton before his most recent incarceration, was arrested on April 23 of last year on drug and assault charges, according to a Clifton police blotter posted on northjersey.com. The blotter says police approached Buckel as he sat in a car. He initially refused to come out, but cooperated with officers after "much negotiation." However, the report says he began to struggle and was eventually charged with possession of heroin, aggravated assault on a police officer and resisting arrest.
Another blotter from police in Clark indicates that he was arrested again a few months later-- this time at his home -- on July 23. He was charged with burglary and theft, and held on $20,000 bail.
Buckel was sentenced to a maximum of three years in prison this past January for offenses out of Union and Passaic counties, including aggravated assault, receiving stolen property and burglary.
Patch.com reports that Buckel's current sentence began with a Union County burglary charge, and that while he was incarcerated, he was convicted of several more offenses -- burglary, aggravated assault, drug possession, and receiving stolen property -- stemming from Passaic County.
The same month he was sentenced, public records show, his wife filed for divorce. Social media posts show photos of Buckel with a woman and several children.
A reporter from NJ Advance Media approached the home of Buckel's ex-wife in Clifton on Thursday, but was stopped by police. A police supervisor said over the radio that officers were in contact with the woman, and that she was not speaking to media.
Supervising Reporter Justin Zaremba contributed to this report.
Andy Polhamus may be reached at apolhamus@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @ajpolhamus. Find NJ.com on Facebook.