Escaped prisoner Danelo Cavalcante was captured Wednesday morning after a manhunt that stretched practically two weeks and drew nationwide consideration.
Cavalcante, 34, was taken into custody at 8:15 a.m. throughout the search perimeter in South Coventry Township, in northern Chester County, close to French Creek Elementary School. That’s the realm the place police have been looking out since Monday night.
After his seize, Cavalcante was taken to the state police barracks at Avondale to be processed and interviewed if he agreed to talk with officers. Television video and images from the scene confirmed he had a bloody face and was sporting a gray Eagles sweatshirt when he was captured.
His seize brings to an finish a large manhunt that began when Cavalcante, who was convicted of brutally murdering his girlfriend and sentenced to life in jail, escaped from Chester County Prison on Aug. 31.
At a information convention, state police Lt. Col George Bivens, who has been main the manhunt, stated a sequence of occasions started to unfold after midnight that led to Cavalcante’s seize. First, a burglar alarm went off at a residence close to Prizer Road, which prompted police to analyze. Although they didn’t discover Cavalcante there, the decision drew police into the realm after they’d been looking out one other location close by.
Thank you to our legislation enforcement companions and the neighborhood whose help introduced this operation to a profitable conclusion. pic.twitter.com/ogmZKg1fGr
— PA State Police (@PAStatePolice) September 13, 2023
Then round 1 a.m., thermal imaging from a fixed-wing plane of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency detected a warmth signature within the woods west of Route 100 and north of Prizer Road. Tactical groups from the U.S. Border Patrol and the state police started to converge on that space earlier than thunderstorms compelled the police plane to land, Bivens stated.
Police on the bottom held the realm to stop any potential escape and resumed the search Wednesday morning. Shortly after 8 a.m., tactical groups converged on the realm the place the warmth supply was detected, Bivens stated.
“They were able to move in very quietly. They had the element of surprise,” Bivens stated. “Cavalcante did not realize he was surrounded until that had occurred.”
That didn’t stop Cavalcante from making an attempt to flee, and he tried crawling out from the underbrush, Bivens stated. Cavalcante was nonetheless armed with a rifle that he had stolen from a home Monday evening.
A police canine subdued him, and groups moved in. He continued to withstand, however was forcibly taken into custody, Bivens stated. Cavalcante sustained a minor canine chew wound to his head and was handled on the scene, Bivens stated. There have been no different accidents.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who additionally spoke on the information convention, famous that the seize was made with “no shots fired.”
“He was desperate, and it was just a matter of time,” Shapiro stated.
Chester County District Attorney Deb Ryan, whose workplace prosecuted Cavalcante, thanked police for his or her efforts.
“Our nightmare is finally over and the good guys won,” Ryan stated.
She informed reporters that the household of Cavalcante’s sufferer, Deborah Brandao, had been informed of his seize and that they breathed a sigh of aid. “They had been living in a nightmare” that had come to an finish, she stated.
After being processed on the Avondale barracks, Cavalcante was transferred to SCI Phoenix in Skippack Township, Montgomery County.
“This was an exhaustive search for an extremely violent and dangerous man that ended with the best possible outcome — the escapee’s capture without physical harm to residents or the brave officers who tracked him down,” Attorney General Michelle Henry stated. “I commend the hundreds of searchers who were laser-focused in their mission, and did not flinch at the challenges they endured along the way.”
Her workplace stated that Cavalcante might be arraigned on a felony escape cost, which she stated was filed on Aug. 31. The Attorney General will deal with the investigation and prosecution. As he has already been sentenced to life in jail with out the opportunity of parole, Cavalcante will stay in custody on the escape cost.
A preliminary listening to has been scheduled for Sept. 27.
The three Chester County commissioners — Chairwoman Marian Moskowitz, Vice Chairman Joh Maxwell and Michelle Kichline — additionally issued a press release praising the trouble of the police in apprehending Cavalcante.
“The capture of Cavalcante ends the nightmare of the past two weeks, and we thank every single law enforcement official at the regional, state and federal level that was out in all weather conditions, all day and night — as well as everyone in the incident command center, our county Department of Emergency Services and county Sheriff’s Office — for their immense efforts,” the assertion learn.
Chester County Prison officers have made some instant modifications to bolster safety within the jail. Those modifications embrace bringing in safety contractors to make everlasting modifications to the train yards. They are additionally reviewing — and altering the place wanted — procedures for each safety measures and communication to residents who dwell near the jail, the commissioners.
Authorities had been scouring the South Coventry space since Monday evening when Cavalcante allegedly stole the .22 caliber rifle and ammunition from a home-owner’s storage. The home-owner fired a number of photographs at Cavalcante, police stated, however they’d no cause to imagine he had been hit.
Police recovered articles of clothes that belonged to Cavalcante and reported that he had stolen a pair of labor boots from the porch of a close-by residence, discarding his prison-issued sneakers.
Those developments prompted Owen J. Roberts School District to shut all its colleges and workplaces. Pottstown School District additionally stored college students indoors, and the native magisterial district court docket, situated close to the home the place the rifle was stolen, introduced that it might be closed due to police exercise.
Bivens stated that he believed that Cavalcante was acquainted with the realm, and one other legislation enforcement official stated he’s thought to have labored there previously.
Who is Danelo Cavalcante? What we all know concerning the escaped prisoner who’s now captured
The manhunt
Cavalcante escaped from Chester County Prison on Aug. 31 by “crab walking” up a wall and over razor wire within the jail yard.
He had been on the run ever since, prompting a large search effort consisting of upwards of 450 legislation enforcement officers.
The manhunt initially targeted on the realm round Chester County Prison in Pocopson Township. Several sightings of Cavalcante have been reported within the space, together with at Longwood Gardens.
Then on Saturday evening, the search abruptly shifted to northern Chester County after Cavalcante stole a van and traveled out of the search space. Police stated he tried to contact two folks, after which deserted the car in East Nantmeal Township.
“No perimeter is 100% secure ever,” Bivens stated throughout a press convention Sunday afternoon. “I wish it (the breakout) had not happened. It’s not for a lack of trying that this occurred.”
The downside with the perimeter Saturday was that unhealthy climate prevented assist from the air, and there are tunnels and different issues that would not be secured, Bivens stated.
Danelo Cavalcante timeline: From homicide to manhunt [Photos, Video]
Cavalcante stole a car from Baily’s Dairy lower than a mile from Longwood Gardens. The keys have been left within the car. Bivens stated he believes Cavalcante dumped the car as a result of its gas was low.
Cavalcante, who lived in Montgomery County earlier than his arrest on homicide fees, was convicted of first-degree homicide in August for the April 2021 stabbing demise of his former girlfriend, Deborah Brandao, outdoors her house in Schuylkill Township.
Brandao had realized that he was wished on a homicide warrant in his native Brazil, and threatened to show him to police if he didn’t cease stalking her. She had twice earlier than reported that he had been violent together with her, however he was by no means arrested in these circumstances.
According to stories, prosecutors in Tocantins state in Brazil have confirmed {that a} felony case attributes “the crime of double qualified homicide to the defendant Danilo Souza Cavalcante.”
Authorities allege that Válter Júnior Moreira dos Reis was killed in 2017 in Figueirópolis over a debt the sufferer owed Cavalcante in reference to the restore of a car. Cavalcante went into hiding after the homicide, made his solution to Puerto Rico, and entered the United States illegally in 2018.
He had been sentenced to life in jail with out parole following his conviction and was awaiting switch to the state jail system when he escaped on Aug. 31.
Owen J. Roberts School District Superintendent Will Stout introduced Wednesday afternoon that each one district colleges will reopen on Thursday for normal classes after being compelled to shut Tuesday and Wednesday due to the manhunt.
Following the profitable conclusion of the seek for Chester County Prison escapee Danelo Cavalcante, the Chester County Commissioners will maintain Town Hall conferences for Chester County residents, to supply info on safety enhancements at Chester County Prison, clarify the emergency communication course of for county residents, and provide counseling providers for individuals who have skilled emotional stress associated to the escape incident.
The first two Town Hall conferences will happen on Monday night, Sept. 18 and Wednesday night, Sept. 20, at 7 p.m. at Pocopson Elementary School, 1105 Pocopson Road, West Chester.
Adina Rowan, the founding father of a neighborhood nonprofit known as You Are Worth It Foundation has arrange a GoFundMe web page to boost cash for the 2 kids left motherless after Cavalcante killed Déborah Evangelista Brandão. The kids at the moment are dwelling with an aunt. The objective of the GoFundMe is to boost $15,000. Donations might be made at https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-victims-of-danelo-cavalcante?utm_campaign=p_cp+share-sheet&utm_medium=copy_link_all&utm_source=customer&mibextid=Zxz2cZ&fbclid=IwAR1vrhK32pqjEkXNxeRjy6_5kEnghZordBocdMxW8g-aYPo4HiDrMuq0-Co_aem_AWLzi5pP2ixkIjxg7kfw0-M3p7fqS3N4XCbqyWb0hElzH3th2CFGgyHGt51IDaoq_OQ
Source: www.bostonherald.com”