Danelo Cavalcante has eluded hundreds of law enforcement officers, drones, helicopters and dogs since breaking out of Chester County, Pa., Prison on Aug. 31 — a week after he was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of his ex-girlfriend. Prosecutors said he stabbed Deborah Brandao, 33, dozens of times in front of her two young children in August 2021. She had found out Cavalcante was out on a warrant for a 2017 murder in Brazil, where he was born. He killed her after she threatened to expose him to police, detectives said.
The 34-year-old escapee made a brazen move Monday night, police said.
Police responded to a call at 10:10 p.m. Monday from a Chester County resident who said “a shirtless, Hispanic man had entered his garage and took a .22-caliber rifle,” Pennsylvania State Police Lt. Col. George Bivens said Tuesday. The resident drew a pistol and fired at Cavalcante as the escapee fled with the rifle. Bivens did not say whether police believe Cavalcante was injured.
Police said they believe the man who stole the gun was Cavalcante from the physical description of him given by the homeowner and after finding his footprints and prison shoes and learning that some boots had been stolen nearby.
The manhunt has disrupted life and frayed nerves in the rural area. The owner of a farm stand now restocks during the day instead of at night to avoid giving the killer low-hanging fruit. One mother decided against sending her son to day care with light-up shoes so he wouldn’t draw attention. A local Facebook group has been flooded by posts asking for livestreams, updates, anything.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) said Tuesday he is mindful that residents in the search area are stressed. “I know that this is a moment of deep worry and anxiety,” he said. “We’re doing everything in our power to make sure you are safe.”
In Chester Springs — well outside the search perimeter — Benjamin Grandizio said he wasn’t unnerved about Cavalcante until police said he stole the gun. Grandizio and his wife work from home, so the person who leaves the house for the longest these days is their 3½-year-old son in day care.
“Today was the first day we were nervous about bringing him to day care,” the 42-year-old father said Tuesday.
His local Facebook groups have become a place where some people snip at each other for either posting too much or not enough about the manhunt. It’s not the same in real life.
“People are nervous, but I’d say for the most part people seem reasonable about it. It’s nerve-racking, but it’s more fascinating than scary to a lot of people,” he said.
The sentiment is different for those solidly in the search perimeter. Bryan Donovan, owner of Horse Shoe Ranch in Pottstown, said officers have combed his 500 acres the last couple days looking for Cavalcante.
“He must be a ninja,” Donovan said.
Life on a farm with 4,000 laying hens is hard enough without local, state and federal authorities searching the property for a convicted killer who just got a gun. Now, the 35-year-old farmer quickly goes out to do his chores — with a gun in tow.
His workers can’t get to the farm because the roads are closed, which also means he can’t make deliveries for several other farms to restaurants and stores. His business will be fine, he said, but he’s more worried about safety.
He said nearby farmers text each other to make sure everyone is doing all right. They are, but they are also uneasy. “Everyone is like ‘how haven’t we caught this guy yet?’” Donovan said.
It’s the little things that heighten his discomfort: There are vigilantes with assault rifles who think they’re helping by driving around aimlessly. The heat outside means more trips to refill the water for his animals and more risk for him. And if one of his livestock dogs get out, will a jumpy officer shoot it?
Donovan said he slept maybe 45 minutes Monday night. “It’s not a good feeling hearing helicopters all day,” he said.
Shapiro said Tuesday that authorities have “contained” Cavalcante. “The gig is almost up, and you’d be best to turn yourself in,” he said.
Bivens, with Pennsylvania State Police, said the “armed and extremely dangerous” fugitive was looking for a place to hide when he saw the gun. He said he told searchers at the beginning to assume Cavalcante was armed.
“I think he is just trying to survive and avoid being captured right now,” Bivens said. “It changes nothing; we have always considered him to be a risk.”
About 500 personnel are scouring 8 to 10 square miles in an area west of Philadelphia, Bivens said Tuesday. Authorities announced that the combined reward for capturing Cavalcante is now up to $25,000.
Bivens said Cavalcante slipped out of a police perimeter over the weekend, stole a van and changed his appearance. Cavalcante was spotted Saturday night on a doorbell camera at the home of a former co-worker, Bivens said. The once-bearded fugitive was clean-shaven and dressed in a dark-billed baseball cap and green hooded sweatshirt, photos released by authorities show.
Cavalcante went to the home of another former colleague Saturday night, Bivens said. Neither former co-worker was home when Cavalcante visited.
Authorities said Cavalcante was reported to be driving a van that he was able to steal from a dairy farm because the keys had been left inside. By mid-Sunday morning, the vehicle had been abandoned in a field in West Nantmeal Township, a rural area in northern Chester County.
Before Cavalcante stole the rifle, Bivens said, a motorist reported seeing the fugitive crouched near the road. At the scene, authorities found footprints in the mud that matched Cavalcante’s prison shoes. Another resident reported that a pair of work boots had been stolen off a porch.
The rifle that Cavalcante stole has a scope and a flashlight mounted to it, Bivens said.
Despite the search for Cavalcante stretching on for nearly two weeks, Bivens said that “nothing has gone wrong” and that law enforcement “will be successful” in capturing him.
“We are making every effort to find him as rapidly as [we] possibly can,” he said.
Brittany Shammas, Kelsey Ables, Justine McDaniel and Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff contributed to this report.
correction
An earlier version of this article incorrectly said that Gov. Josh Shapiro spoke about the manhunt Thursday. He spoke about it Tuesday. The article has been corrected.