Convicted murderer Danelo Cavalcante was apprehended in Pennsylvania, nearly two weeks after his daring escape from a Chester County prison, the state police announced on Wednesday.
South Coventry Township was swarming with heavily armed police, setting up a perimeter late on Tuesday before being able to secure the fugitive’s capture.
However, the exact location of his apprehension remains undisclosed.
Fox News reported a law enforcement source disclosed that Cavalcante was caught in close proximity to a residence from where he had stolen a .22-caliber rifle fitted with a scope and a flashlight from an unlocked garage on Monday night.
Reportedly, he had managed to escape when the homeowner had opened fire with a handgun.
State police and U.S. Border Patrol teams were instrumental in his capture.
Earlier, the police had issued warnings to the residents to stay indoors, secure their vehicles, and lock their doors, describing Cavalcante as being extremely dangerous and armed.
Search efforts involving over 500 officers from local, state, and federal agencies covered vast spans of challenging, wooded terrain.
Cavalcante’s escape had resulted in widespread anxiety across the community, prompting closures of several school districts.
It was on August 31 when Cavalcante, 34, managed to flee the Chester Prison, aided by a choreographed evasion technique, which included movements such as crab-walking up a wall, pushing through razor wire, scaling over a fence, and breaking through more razor wire for his exit.
His escape proceeding was documented on video which officials released last week.
Cavalcante had been serving his time for murdering his former partner, stabbing her 38 times in full view of her kids last year. His transfer to a state prison was awaited when he fled.
He was also implicated in a 2017 murder in Brazil over an unsettled vehicular repair debt.
His presence in the U.S. has been reported as illegal.
Following Cavalcante’s arrest, a joint statement was issued by Chester County Commissioners Marian Moskowitz, Josh Maxwell, and Michelle Kichline.
They reassured the immediate fortification of security within the prison.
They said, “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 Commissioner trio, extending gratitude to law enforcement, the community, businesses, and school districts for their steadfast support during the search, also reported some “immediate changes” at Chester County Prison.
Eleni Cavalcante, Cavalcante’s sibling, was also taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement due to “some immigration issues.”
Her lack of cooperation with the authorities was also noted, according to the Fox News report.
A message appealed by Cavalcante’s mother, Iracema Cavalcante, asking her son to surrender was broadcast from a helicopter in an attempt to coax him.
In a conversation with The New York Times on Tuesday from her residence in Brazil, Iracema acknowledged that her son’s tough upbringing in the backlands of the Brazilian savanna equipped him with the survival skills he likely used to evade the authorities on multiple occasions.
While not disputing her son’s guilt in both the Pennsylvania and Brazil murders, she suggested that her son might prefer death over life-long imprisonment, saying, “If it’s to go to a place to suffer and die in that place, it’s better to die soon. You don’t have to suffer so much, just to die later.”
