(RightWing.org) – Danilo Souza Cavalcante fled to the United States from his native Brazil in early 2019 after local prosecutors issued an arrest for him related to allegations he shot and killed a college student. On August 23, a Chester County, Pennsylvania, judge sentenced him to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the brutal murder of his former girlfriend in April 2021. Eight days later, he escaped from Chester County Prison. Fortunately, law enforcement officials recently took him back into custody, concluding a 14-day manhunt.
On Wednesday, September 13, the Chester County District Attorney’s Office issued a statement detailing Cavalcante’s capture. Pennsylvania State Police officials established a perimeter in the northern portion of the country after tracking him to the area the previous day.
Early Wednesday morning, officers responded to the report of a tripped burglar alarm at a residence within that perimeter. Officers from other units were dispatched to the area to try to close off any avenue of escape.
Likewise, the Drug Enforcement Administration dispatched a fixed-wing aircraft to conduct aerial surveillance using a forward-looking infrared device. At about 1:00 a.m. local time, the plane detected a suspicious heat signature in the area and started tracking it.
The surveillance aircraft had to depart due to an incoming storm front, but not before tactical teams arrived where the heat source was last detected traveling. The law enforcement officers secured a smaller perimeter and waited until the storm passed.
The aircraft returned a few hours later and relocated the heat signature. Shortly after 8:00 a.m., the tactical units quietly converged on Cavalcante and surrounded him. Armed with a stolen rifle, he attempted to elude capture by crawling through some thick underbrush.
However, a tactical unit with the US Border Patrol quickly discovered the escapee using a search-and-rescue canine. Officials transferred him to a nearby Pennsylvania State Police barracks for questioning and processing. Once investigators finish their interrogation, they will transfer him back to prison to continue serving the rest of his sentence.
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