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2023-09-11 19:41:19 UTC
Union workers are pieces of shit.
Police working to track down a fugitive in Pennsylvania, now on the runfor 12 days, are facing the reality of a much wider search, as the
convicted killer moves farther from the prison, finds new ways to prolong
his escape and evades capture.
Despite the efforts of hundreds of law enforcement officers, Danelo
Cavalcante, 34, slipped through a tightly guarded perimeter over the
weekend, stole a van, changed his appearance and turned up on a doorbell
camera more than 20 miles away, trying to make contact with acquaintances
to aid his escape, according to state police.
The developments dramatically altered the search, which had focused since
Cavalcantes August 31 escape on the area immediately surrounding the
Chester County Prison, about 30 miles west of Philadelphia, where he was
being held following his conviction last month of first-degree murder.
But on Saturday evening, Cavalcante stole a 2020 Ford Transit van three-
quarters of a mile from the search perimeter and traveled about 25 miles
north to the East Pikeland Township home of an acquaintance hed known
several years ago, Pennsylvania State Police Lt. Col. George Bivens said
in a Sunday news conference.
He spoke with the acquaintance on a Ring doorbell camera, which captured
his new clean-shaven look, but the person wasnt home and did not respond
to meet Cavalcante, Bivens said.
Cavalcante then tried to contact another acquaintance in the nearby
Phoenixville area. That person was also not home but called police after a
female resident saw the escaped inmate, according to Bivens.
He is absolutely looking for support, Bivens told CNNs Polo Sandoval at
the news conference. He needs that support. He doesnt have it, Bivens
said.
Cavalcante fled Chester County Prison within days of being sentenced to
life without parole for the murder of his former girlfriend, 33-year-old
Deborah Brandão. He left by crab walking between two walls, scaling a
fence and traversing across razor wire, putting the community on edge and
shuttering schools as he repeatedly evaded capture.
So far, all the reported sightings of Cavalcante have been in Chester
County, where the prison is located. Bivens said police didnt believe he
has left the state as of Sunday morning, but law enforcement across the
country is being kept apprised of the manhunt.
Cavalcantes time on the run has likely exceeded the expectations of
investigators, CNNs chief law enforcement and intelligence analyst John
Miller said. Most escaped prisoners are captured within 24 hours, and most
of them within two miles, he said.
But Cavalcante fled almost two weeks ago. And his movements Saturday
changed the geographic focus of the search to the area around East
Nantmeal Township in the northern part of Chester County, where the stolen
van was found abandoned in a field behind a barn.
You also have to remember the stakes are different for him, Miller said.
He is desperate and willing to really play his hardest, because if he
goes back, hes going to a place where hes not getting out.
Stealing vehicle was a game changer
The search now shifted to the area where Cavalcante left the van
apparently after running out of gas a little west of the last sightings,
according to Bivens.
Police were everywhere on Sunday, said Rick Silvia, the owner of
Journeys End Farm in East Nantmeal, which was hosting an equestrian
event.
They began turning vehicles around and blocked the perimeter of our
property, Silvia told CNN. The last thing we heard last night was that
they were awaiting more manpower and doing a shoulder-to-shoulder search
in the cornfield.
The police presence was smaller Monday, he said.
Meanwhile, Nantmeal United Methodist Church locked its doors during
services Sunday, its pastor, Dennis Keen, told CNN. It was an unusual
move, taken for safety precautions, Keen said. His parishioners are
worried.
Bivens asked community members to familiarize themselves with the latest
photos of Cavalcante, check their surveillance footage and secure their
homes and vehicles. The owner of the van used by the fugitive, a local
dairy farm, did not realize it had been stolen, Bivens said. The keys had
been left inside.
We are obviously very concerned that Cavalcante has or will attempt to
steal another vehicle to facilitate his escape, Bivens said. This most
recent incident is a reminder that he will take advantage of any
opportunity to obtain items he needs.
Cavalcante, who was previously shown in photos with facial hair, has since
changed his appearance by shaving his face, Bivens said. He also got a
green hooded sweater.
Its unclear how Cavalcante managed to get past the search perimeter
authorities had set up around Longwood Gardens, where several sightings of
the fugitive had been reported in the days after his escape.
No perimeter is 100% secure ever, Bivens told reporters Sunday. He
praised law enforcement for what he said was an exceptionally good
effort, and noted the area included underground tunnels, very large
drainage ditches and other areas that could not be secured.
Miller, the CNN analyst, similarly pointed out a police perimeter does not
consist of a solid line of cops in a giant square. Slipping through was
a game of patience for Cavalcante, who is on the run, literally for his
life.
The game changer for him was stealing the truck, because it allowed him
to get distance, Miller said. In fact, it allowed him to get distance
til it ran out of gas. He hasnt run out of gas.
A second game changer would be finding an associate who will aid him,
Miller added, perhaps through providing him a phone, another vehicle or
helping him change his appearance again.
Authorities focus, Miller said, is going to be less on that box that he
got out of, and more on who exists in his universe that he would reach
to.
Timeline of known Cavalcante sightings
In addition to the murder of Brandão he stabbed her 38 times in front of
her two young children, according to prosecutors Cavalcante is also
wanted in a 2017 homicide case in Brazil, his native country, a US
Marshals Service official has said.
Police have no evidence he has obtained a weapon, but he is considered
extremely dangerous, Bivens said.
Clearly he has been in residences, businesses and in vehicles at least
one that I cant say what may or may not have been in any of those
locations that he had access to, Bivens said Sunday.
Pennsylvania State Police have said there have been multiple credible
sightings of the escaped inmate. Heres what we know about some of the
places police say Cavalcante has been to so far:
August 31: Cavalcante is seen on jail surveillance video escaping from
Chester County Prison. The video showed him crab-walking between two
walls in an exercise yard placing his hands on one wall and his feet on
another and shimmying up out of view, said the prisons acting warden,
Howard Holland. Cavalcante then ran across a roof, scaled another fence
and got through razor wire, Holland said.
September 1: Ryan Drummond, who lives in the township where the prison is
located, said Cavalcante got into his Pocopson Township home and took food
before leaving, CNN affiliate WPVI reported.
September 2: Cavalcante was spotted on surveillance video about 1.5 miles
from the prison, authorities said.
September 4: A security camera recorded the fugitive at Longwood Gardens,
about 3 miles from the prison, authorities said.
Tuesday: An area resident reported seeing Cavalcante in a creek bed on the
residents property, Bivens said.
Wednesday: A trail camera image showed Cavalcante in or around Longwood
Gardens but officials learned about this sighting Thursday evening,
according to Bivens.
Friday: Authorities reported two sightings of Cavalcante within the search
area. The area encompassed Longwood Gardens.
Saturday: Cavalcante stole the van and at 9:52 p.m. local time, he went to
the home of the first acquaintance where he was seen on doorbell video. He
then went to the home of another old work associate at 10:07 p.m. in
Phoenixville area, according to Bivens, who said authorities learned of
the sightings around 12:30 a.m. Sunday.
Sunday: The stolen van was found abandoned in a field behind a barn in
East Nantmeal Township at 10:40 a.m.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/11/us/danelo-cavalcante-inmate-search-
pennsylvania-monday/index.html