CHESTER COUNTY, PA – After being on the lam for nearly two weeks following a rather clever prison escape, authorities in Pennsylvania have finally apprehended convicted killer Danelo Cavalcante without serious incident or injury.
Earlier in September, Law Enforcement Today reported on the then-ongoing fugitive status of 34-year-old Cavalcante, a man convicted of murdering his girlfriend in front of her children back in 2021 and is wanted on separate murder charges out of Brazil.
Needless to say, the method of Cavalcante’s August 31st prison escape is one for the proverbial books after he was handed down a life sentence for the 2021 murder just a week earlier, with reports noting he “crab walked” up to the roof at the prison via two lateral walls and made a break for it unnoticed.
While on the run, Cavalcante proved to be a slippery fugitive, even managing to sneak past roughly 400 law enforcement officers after authorities believed they had him thoroughly surrounded within the Longwood Gardens botanical park.
In the days that followed, evidence began trickling in as to where Cavalcante was traveling, with the likes of Ring doorbell cam footage revealing he attempted to contact an old coworker and pilfering a work van and eventually a firearm from a residence (the firearm theft led to the homeowner opening fire on the fugitive).
Come the early morning hours of September 13th, after being on the run for nearly two weeks, state police in Pennsylvania made their break in the case and took the fugitive into custody in northern Chester County.
According to Pennsylvania State Police Lt. Col. George Bivens, Cavalcante was located with the assistance of Border Patrol and the employment of an aircraft fitted with thermal technology, zeroing in on Cavalcante’s exact location at approximately 1:00 a.m. on September 13th.
Officials noted that a then-ongoing storm prevented authorities from immediately taking Cavalcante into custody, but the fugitive was eventually secured by 8:00 a.m. without any serious incident occurring.
Cavalcante was apparently oblivious to law enforcement having encircled his location until it was too late, according to Lt. Col. Bivens, although the fugitive did attempt a feeble escape once he was aware of his discovery, but the last ditch effort was thwarted once authorities released a police K9.
Aside from the bite wound resulting from Cavalcante reportedly trying to elude authorities, no other injuries were reported nor was any gunfire exchanged during the apprehension.
Following Cavalcante’s apprehension, Chester County Commissioners Marian Moskowitz, Josh Maxwell and Michelle Kichline released a joint statement expressing relief and also addressing changes that are forthcoming to the Chester County Prison in light of Cavalcante’s escape.
“Chester County Prison officials have made some immediate changes to bolster security in the prison, have brought in security contractors to make permanent changes to the exercise yards, and are reviewing and – where needed – changing procedures for both security measures and communication to residents who live close to the prison,” the statement read.
Earlier in September, Law Enforcement Today reported on the then-ongoing fugitive status of 34-year-old Cavalcante, a man convicted of murdering his girlfriend in front of her children back in 2021 and is wanted on separate murder charges out of Brazil.
Needless to say, the method of Cavalcante’s August 31st prison escape is one for the proverbial books after he was handed down a life sentence for the 2021 murder just a week earlier, with reports noting he “crab walked” up to the roof at the prison via two lateral walls and made a break for it unnoticed.
While on the run, Cavalcante proved to be a slippery fugitive, even managing to sneak past roughly 400 law enforcement officers after authorities believed they had him thoroughly surrounded within the Longwood Gardens botanical park.
In the days that followed, evidence began trickling in as to where Cavalcante was traveling, with the likes of Ring doorbell cam footage revealing he attempted to contact an old coworker and pilfering a work van and eventually a firearm from a residence (the firearm theft led to the homeowner opening fire on the fugitive).
Come the early morning hours of September 13th, after being on the run for nearly two weeks, state police in Pennsylvania made their break in the case and took the fugitive into custody in northern Chester County.
According to Pennsylvania State Police Lt. Col. George Bivens, Cavalcante was located with the assistance of Border Patrol and the employment of an aircraft fitted with thermal technology, zeroing in on Cavalcante’s exact location at approximately 1:00 a.m. on September 13th.
Officials noted that a then-ongoing storm prevented authorities from immediately taking Cavalcante into custody, but the fugitive was eventually secured by 8:00 a.m. without any serious incident occurring.
Cavalcante was apparently oblivious to law enforcement having encircled his location until it was too late, according to Lt. Col. Bivens, although the fugitive did attempt a feeble escape once he was aware of his discovery, but the last ditch effort was thwarted once authorities released a police K9.
Aside from the bite wound resulting from Cavalcante reportedly trying to elude authorities, no other injuries were reported nor was any gunfire exchanged during the apprehension.
Following Cavalcante’s apprehension, Chester County Commissioners Marian Moskowitz, Josh Maxwell and Michelle Kichline released a joint statement expressing relief and also addressing changes that are forthcoming to the Chester County Prison in light of Cavalcante’s escape.
“Chester County Prison officials have made some immediate changes to bolster security in the prison, have brought in security contractors to make permanent changes to the exercise yards, and are reviewing and – where needed – changing procedures for both security measures and communication to residents who live close to the prison,” the statement read.
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Comments
2023-09-15T18:56-0400 | Comment by: S
First & foremost he should have never been able to escape but he did. He’s a small guy & able to easily hide in the brush. It’s easy to criticize the officers looking for him but at the end of the day, they got him without any more bloodshed or before he could get to the border. It’s too bad the k-9 was pulled off of him too soon. But now he will be the taxpayer’s problem for a very long time. I for one wouldn’t have minded if he had met with a violent demise.