Danelo Cavalcante planned carjacking to flee to Canada before capture - latest updates
Fugitive was left with a bloody face after suffering bite from Belgium Malinois dog Yoda as he was captured after almost two weeks on the run on Wednesday
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Escaped prisoner Danelo Cavalcante has revealed how he survived almost two weeks on the run from law enforcement in Pennsylvania, following his dramatic capture by a police dog called Yoda.
US Marshall Robert Clark told ABC News that the convicted killer had been very candid after he was captured on Wednesday morning. He told investigators how he evaded capture and survived in the woods by eating watermelon.
“He stated he intended to carjack somebody in the next 24 hours and that he was going to head north to Canada,” Mr Clark said. “He said on multiple occasions law enforcement officers almost stepped on him, [that] we were only five or six feet away.”
Pennsylvania officials said that tactical teams closed in on Cavalcante on Wednesday morning and the inmate began to crawl through heavy underbrush to get away. At that point, Yoda, a four-year-old Belgium Malinois, set out to subdue the escapee, leaving him with a face bloodied from a bite.
Cavalcante had escaped from Chester County Prison on 31 August – days after he was sentenced to life for fatally stabbing his ex-girlfriend Deborah Brandao. He is also wanted for a 2017 murder in Brazil.
Hundreds of police officers hunted for Danelo Cavalcante for two weeks. A dog secured his capture
Calvalcante was finally taken back into custody after a 14-day multi-agency manhunt that spanned more than 25 miles. For nearly two weeks, Cavalcante eluded hundreds of SWAT, FBI, state, federal and local enforcement officers in full combat gear, as well as tracking dogs, and police on horseback and on aircraft.
It was a US Border Patrol’s tactical unit (BORTAC) that finally made the capture shortly after 8am. Dozens of agents in the special operations unit celebrated the major development with a victory photo next to a defeated, bloodied and handcuffed Cavalcante.
The key participant in the imminent capture, a K-9 who surprised Cavalcante and tackled him to the ground, also posed front row next to its handler for the photo.
Read more:
Police hunted for Danelo Cavalcante for two weeks. A dog secured his capture
Four-year-old Yoda subdued Cavalcante, allowing a US Border Patrol’s tactical unit to surround the murder convict. Andrea Blanco reports
Store manager recounts Cavalcante’s arrest
Jim Martin, the manager of a Little’s John Deere dealership, said that Cavalcante’s arrest took place just outside of his business.
“We saw them checking the tree lines and out of nowhere everybody started congregating back by the shed and then we saw him walk him up,” Mr Martin told NBC 10. “One camouflage had his rifle and walked him up and EMS started working on him in the parking lot.”
Cavalcante was hiding under logs in a shed when he was surprised by law enforcement.
Pennsylvania police pose with captured Danelo Cavalcante after he led them on two-week chase
Pennsylvania state police pose for a group victory photo with Danelo Cavalcante at the forefront, after they caught the escaped killer on Wednesday.
A large group of police officers, all dressed in military camouflage uniforms, gathered around the escaped killer after an exhausting two-week manhunt.
In the video, you can see one military personnel hand his phone over to another officer, before all gathering around for a photo with the fugitive. Some officers posed by crouching on the floor, one kneeling with his gun in hand next to Mr Cavalcante. Another officer made sure his police K-9 was in the shot.
WATCH: CCTV footage shows Danelo Calvacante's prison escape
Danelo Cavalcante reveals how he survived almost two weeks on run
Escaped prisoner Danelo Cavalcante has revealed how he survived almost two weeks on the run from law enforcement, following his dramatic capture by a police dog called Yoda.
US Marshall Robert Clark told NewsNation that the convicted killer “was brutally honest” after he was captured on Wednesday morning.
He told investigators how he evaded capture by hiding his faecal matter under leaves so that search teams couldn’t track him.
“He did say on three occasions law enforcement officers did almost step on him. They were about seven to eight yards away from him,” said Mr Clark.
After catching escaped murderer, officers took a photo with him. Experts say that was inappropriate
A group photo of about two dozen law officers in tactical gear posing with escaped murderer Danelo Cavalcante minutes after his capture Wednesday in southeastern Pennsylvania drew criticism from policing reform advocates and some members of the public.
The moment of the photo was captured by a KYW-TV television news helicopter. It showed the officers and federal agents gathered in a half circle around the handcuffed escapee for a photo before loading him into an armoured vehicle.
Policing experts said the celebratory moment after the gruelling 14-day search for the armed suspect was inappropriate and dehumanizing. But at least one leader of the operation said he wasn’t bothered by it.
When asked about the criticism at a news conference Wednesday, Pennsylvania State Police Lt Col George Bivens focused on the officer’s hard work under trying circumstances.
“They’re proud of their work,” Bivens said. “I’m not bothered at all by the fact that they took a photograph with him in custody.”
Policing experts said the practice of snapping photos, especially after a successful arrest, is not uncommon but has become more prevalent with the advent of smart phones. While many law enforcement agencies have tried to create conduct guidelines for social media use including barring posts to personal pages while wearing a uniform or from conducting on-duty activities, experts say those rules do not exist everywhere and are inconsistent.
“There’s not standards or uniformity in those policies. What we have here is a galvanizing act that might start a debate,” Adam Scott Wandt, an associate professor of public policy at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, told The Associated Press.
“From a policing ethics point of view, a police officer taking a picture on the street and putting it on social media or doing it as a celebratory or retaliatory thing is not OK,” Wandt said. “As an attorney, it is an evidentiary problem being created here too. It’s a dangerous practice for a police officer to create evidence on a scene and not properly turn it over to the prosecutor.”
AP
Where did they find Danelo Cavalcante?
Cavalcante was arrested without incident on Wednesday morning after almost two weeks on the run.
The fugitive was found hiding inside a shed at a business dealership in Pottstown with the rifle he had previously stolen from a home in South Coventry Township, FOX29 reports. Aerial footage of the capture showed dozens of law enforcement officers surrounding Cavalcante, who was wearing a grey Eagles hooded sweatshirt and dark pants.
Officers then cleaned Cavalcante’s bloodied face and escorted him out of the woods and into a SWAT tactical car, where they proceeded to cut off Cavalcante’s clothing.
On Tuesday night, a burglar alarm went off at a residence within the search perimeter. Deputies responded to the scene but did not immediately locate Cavalcante.
Then at 1am on Wednesday, thermal imaging from a DEA aircraft picked up a signal and officials deployed ground forces. The aircraft had been flying over the perimeter for several days but had not successfully picked up a signal because of high temperatures.
Lightening and extreme weather in the early morning hours of Wednesday complicated the operation but law enforcement secured the perimeter and resumed efforts this morning.
As law enforcement closed in on Cavalcante, a K-9 unit was released to immobilise the fugitive. Lt Col George Bivens said that Cavalcante continued to resist and “crawl away” even after he was surrounded by officers.
Mr Bivens said that Cavalcante was taken by surprise and did not have a chance to use the rifle he had stolen. Cavalcante sustained a minor bite wound from the K-9 during the ordeal.
Danelo Cavalcante killed his girlfriend in front of her children. Then his prison escape sparked a two-week manhunt
Danelo Cavalcante was sentenced to life behind bars for the April 2021 murder of Deborah Brandao. He broke free from jail days later, sparking a manhunt that lasted almost two weeks.
The Independent’s Faiza Saqib and Andrea Blanco report:
Danelo Cavalcante killed his girlfriend. Then he staged a prison break
Danelo Cavalcante was sentenced to life behind bars for the April 2021 murder of Deborah Brandao. He broke free from jail days later, sparking a manhunt that lasted almost two weeks, Faiza Saqib and Andrea Blanco report
Whose Eagles shirt was Danelo Cavalcante wearing when he was captured?
Police have promised to get a new Eagles shirt for whoever Danelo Cavalcante stole it from.
The killer was captured wearing a hooded top featuring the football team brand logo.
He changed outfits multiple times during his escape.