Convicted murderer and illegal alien Danelo Cavalcante was “forcibly” taken into custody Wednesday – and sustained what was called a minor bite wound during the capture – and is now back behind bars, police have confirmed.
“One of the teams released a search dog on Cavalcante, and the dog subdued him,” an apprehending officer said.
State police made the announcement on social media as the search for the Brazilian fugitive entered its 14th day. Cavalcante’s condition wasn’t released other than to confirm the bite wounds.
AP reports Cavalcante had been eluding hundreds of searchers for two weeks by hiding out in wooded areas, breaking into suburban homes for food, fleeing under gunfire with a rifle pilfered from a garage, stealing a vehicle and changing his appearance.
The search forced schools to close right at the start of the academic year, led to warnings for homeowners to lock their doors, and blocked roads over the busy Labor Day weekend.
Law enforcement officers ride by a roadblock as the search for escaped convict Danelo Cavalcante continues in Pottstown, Pa., Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2023. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Law enforcement officers gather as the search for escaped convict Danelo Cavalcante continues Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2023, in Pottstown, Pa. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Cavalcante, 34, and measuring a diminutive five feet tall, escaped from the Chester County jail in southeastern Pennsylvania on Aug. 31 by crab-walking up between two walls that were topped with razor wire, then jumping from the roof and dashing away.
Police declared him “armed and extremely dangerous.”
Less than three weeks before escaping from the prison, Cavalcante was convicted of murdering 33-year-old Deborah Brandao in front of her seven-year-old daughter and her three-year-old son in April 2021. He received a sentence of life without parole.
The illegal alien is thought to have crossed the United States-Mexico border sometime after allegedly murdering a man in Brazil in 2017 and after Brazilian law enforcement issued a warrant for his arrest in June 2018.
The prison tower guard on duty when Cavalcante escaped was fired. The escape went undetected for more than an hour until guards took a headcount.
The Associated Press contributed to this report