The search for Brazilian criminal Danelo Cavalcante, who escaped thirteen days ago from a prison where he was serving a sentence for murder, intensified on Tuesday after the theft of a gun from a house near Philadelphia, where some schools remain closed due to the ‘dangerousness’. of the fugitive, police said.

Lt. Col. George Bivens of the Pennsylvania State Police reported that the 34-year-old Brazilian entered a home in South Coventry, about 30 miles northwest of Philadelphia, on Monday evening and stole a “rifle” that was in the garage.

According to police, the owner, surprised by the thief, shot him as he fled, apparently without injuring him.

An inmate escapes from a Pennsylvania prison just nine days after being sentenced to life in prison for murder: who is Danelo Cavalcante

The stolen rifle has “a telescopic sight and a light,” said the police officer, who is in the crosshairs of a population terrified by their inability to capture the fugitive, who has been seen in several parts of the region since his film escape . the Chester County Jail, in Pennsylvania (northeast), on August 31.

“Cavalcante is armed and extremely dangerous,” warned police, who also asked residents of the area to close the doors of their homes and vehicles and “stay indoors.”

He also asked residents to check security cameras and contact police if they see anything suspicious, and especially not to approach the Brazilian.

Likewise, several schools in the search perimeter remained closed this Tuesday in the area where the fugitive, considered by police to be “extremely dangerous”, “desperate and not wanting to be caught”, was seen.

Searching tirelessly

Becki Patterson, executive director of Lundale Farm, a farm in that area, told AFP by telephone that helicopters and police were searching the area.

‘It’s a manhunt. That’s really what happens. Just people (police) walking around our property, walking through the woods,” he explained.

“There are trees, streams, bridges and all kinds of corners that you can sneak through,” he explains, before specifying that “it’s very stressful.”

This little man, 1.50 m and 54 kg according to the ‘Wanted’ message, was sentenced to life imprisonment in mid-August for the murder of his ex-partner in the presence of the victim’s son. The crime took place with a knife, during an argument, in April 2021.

Changes in appearance

On Sunday, police announced that the fugitive had changed his appearance: he had shaved off the beard and mustache with which he appeared in the initially released search photo.

Authorities published four photos taken by security cameras of the alleged fugitive under the porch of a house. In some cases he appears wearing a light sweater with the hood over his head.

Since his escape, Cavalcante has been captured by security cameras several times, but so far he has been able to escape from the powerful apparatus in which hundreds of officers are equipped with helicopters, drones and dogs from the Pennsylvania State Police, supported by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the US Marshals, specialized in the search for fugitives.

Cavalcante had stolen a white van that was found on Sunday, apparently because it had run out of fuel.

According to police, he asked two acquaintances for help, who alerted authorities. His sister, who was in an irregular situation in the country, was detained.

His escape from prison, captured by a prison camera released by authorities, is as spectacular as it is embarrassing for those in charge of the prison, which is fifty kilometers from the search area.

In the video, the inmate, dressed in a white T-shirt, blue pants and white sneakers, is seen hiding behind a wall in the patio and then deftly climbing between two parallel walls to disappear through the roof.

According to police, he is also wanted for a murder in Brazil. That’s why he fled the country, arriving first in Puerto Rico, where he obtained forged documents, before arriving in the northeastern United States, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer newspaper, which has been following the trial. (JO)