Police

Cops: Jamesport fugitive arrested in New Jersey, charged with arson

The suspect: Manuel (Credit: Suffolk Police)
Manuel DeLeon Cuellar. (Credit: Suffolk Police)

A Jamesport man on the run from police after setting fire to his girlfriend’s apartment and striking a police officer two weeks ago was arrested in New Jersey Thursday, Suffolk County police said. 

Manuel DeLeon Cuellar, 24, was located in Plainsfield, N.J. and charged with second-degree arson, police said. He will face additional charges when he returns to New York, police said.

The arrest stems from an incident early Christmas morning when Mr. Cuellar allegedly burglarized his girlfriend’s Brentwood apartment, assaulted her and set the apartment on fire, police said. As he fled the scene, he struck a police officer with a pickup truck and then crashed it a short distance away and fled on foot, police said. The woman and officer were treated for non life-threatening injuries.

The U.S. Marshals New York/New Jersey Regional Fugitive Task Force, along with detectives from the Arson Squad and Third Squad, tracked down Mr. Cuellar after a two-week search.