“If you see him, don’t go near him.”
The United States is desperately searching for an inmate who escaped from prison just a week after being sentenced to life in prison for murder.
Brazilian national Danelo Cavalcante, 34, escaped from the Chester County Prison in West Chester, eastern Pennsylvania, on the morning of August 31.
Last month, Cavalcante was sentenced to life in prison for stabbing an ex-girlfriend to death in front of their two minor children.
Cavalcante is also wanted for a murder in Brazil.
West Chester University, located near the prison, announced last Friday that it was temporarily suspending classes out of “an abundance of caution.”
On the sixth day of the search, the Pennsylvania authorities decided to close two school districts and cancel classes in the schools.
In a press conference on Thursday, the prison’s acting director, Howard Holland, did not offer details on how the escape occurred, saying only that an investigation is underway.
According to police, Danelo Cavalcante, 34, was seen twice overnight on Monday. Dozens of police officers participate in the search with dogs, drones and helicopters to find him.
Initially, the police had focused their search on a heavily wooded area within a 3.2 km radius of the jail.
But this Tuesday, the search area was expanded after the fugitive was detected the night before by the surveillance cameras of the Longwood Gardens botanical garden on two occasions.
The images show Cavalcante walking through the trees with a bag over his shoulder. In some of the images he is also seen wearing a dark hoodie.
Robert Clark, US Marshal task force supervisor for eastern Pennsylvania, told CBS, the BBC’s US partner, that Cavalante is “desperate and dangerous, probably exhausted.”
“If you see him, stay away from him,” Chester County District Attorney Deb Ryan said Thursday. “We ask that you contact 911. He is considered extremely dangerous.”
Wanted in Brazil
According to the authorities, Cavalcante stabbed his ex-girlfriend Deborah Brandao to death in April 2021 in front of his children, who were 4 and 7 years old at the time.
Cavalcante was arrested hours after the crime after fleeing to Virginia.
In a Facebook post last week, the Chester County District Attorney’s office said his ex-partner had “threatened to report him to the police” after learning Cavalcante had an open warrant for his murder in Brazil.
Prosecutor Ryan told Local Daily News that Cavalcante, a former criminal gang member, is believed to be suspected of murdering a man who owed him money in Brazil in 2017.
Those in charge of the operation believe that Cavalcante moves at night and hides during the day. The area also includes numerous possible hiding places such as sheds that have complicated the search.
“We’re trying to stress him out, keep him moving, fence him in,” Agent Clark said. “This is what we do. Your despair will not outlast our dedication.”
Local authorities are offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to his arrest.
Officials are using thermal imaging technology. A federal arrest warrant has also been obtained in case he tries to flee across state lines into Delaware or Maryland.
Authorities on Monday began using helicopters and patrol vehicles to broadcast an audio message recorded by Cavalcante’s mother in Brazil asking him to turn himself in.
“As desperate as he is, he may change his mind and hear his mother telling him to turn himself in,” Clark said Monday.
“Maybe this is what puts him at the limit where we can get a peaceful surrender.”
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BBC-NEWS-SRC: https://www.bbc.com/mundo/articles/cq5d37wj5jro, IMPORTING DATE: 2023-09-05 21:40:06
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