Credit: Christopher Ney
Two bounty hunters captured a Bucks County convict who was wanted.
Albert Dunkowski, 54, of Middletown Township, was nabbed in Elkton, Maryland Tuesday evening by County Bail Bonds bounty hunters Christopher Ney and John Cripps. He was then transported to the Bucks County Correctional Facility, the bounty hunters told LevittownNow.com.
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The Bucks County District Attorney’s Office confirmed Wednesday morning that Dunkowski was being held at the county jail.
The bounty hunters captured Dunkowski because they were working for the business that backed his bail in the Bucks County case.
Dunkowski and his 47-year-old wife Christine, who was arrested last month in Wilmington, Delaware, were wanted after being convicted of three counts each of endangering the welfare of a child in absentia in early October in Bucks County. Bail was revoked for the two, but they had already skipped town.
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On October 21, the U.S. Marshal Service arrested Albert Dunkowski at a bus stop in the 200 block of Belle Hill Road in Elkton, Maryland.
Following his arrest by federal authorities, Albert Dunkowski was being held in the Cecil County (Maryland) Detention Center before being released last week.
On Tuesday, Cecil County (Maryland) Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Gerald Widdoes explained how Albert Dunkowski was able to get out of custody.
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Following his arrest in Maryland, Albert Dunkowski was taken before a district court judge and waived extradition back to Bucks County, Widdoes said.
Bucks County authorities were alerted on Friday, October 22 at 1:29 p.m. that the Maryland judge gave Pennsylvania authorities until 5 p.m. on Monday, October 25 to pick up Albert Dunkowski.
“Pennsylvania authorities asked for a 24-hour time extension, which was granted by a different District Court Judge on Monday October 25, 2021. The Cecil County Detention Center was never notified of that extension and Dunkowski was released from custody Monday evening per the original commitment document,” Widdoes said.
Credit: Middletown police
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Once both convicts are back in Bucks County, the Dunkowskis will be sentenced, Bucks County President Judge Wallace Bateman said in court last month.
The couple were first arrested after officers found them and four kids – ages 5, 6, 9, and 13 – sleeping in a vehicle at the Woodbourne Train Station in 2019. The family was living in the vehicle and the nearby woods, authorities said.
At the trial, Deputy District Attorney Matt Lannetti said the conditions in the vehicle were so bad that bugs were crawling around, there was trash piled so high the view of one child was obstructed, and there was a strong odor of urine and feces.
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An evaluation by a doctor found the kids were malnourished and had urine-soaked pants. The two youngest were in diapers that had not been changed and a girl with cerebral palsy had bed sores all over her body, police said.
Police learned the couple had more kids who weren’t with them in the vehicle at the train station.
One girl was found at a family friend’s home with serious neglect-caused dental problems. She couldn’t chew on one side of her mouth, authorities said.
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Another child was located in Falls Township and was malnourished and 30 pounds underweight, authorities said.
Albert Dunkowski told police the family ended up living in the vehicle and in a wooded encampment near the train station after they lost their home following a fight with a family member.
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During the trial, prosecutors told the court none of the kids went to school and the family never had contact with social services agencies.
The children are recovering from the neglect after being taken away from their parents.
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