The Philadelphia area was plunged into a state of panic and fear as police launched a harrowing operation to capture an illegal immigrant who had escaped from prison after being convicted for a brutal murder. Danelo Cavalcante, the 34-year-old Brazilian national, was finally apprehended by Pennsylvania State Police on Wednesday after spending 13 days on the run in the woods of South Coventry Township in Chester County, west of Philadelphia. He was found hiding in a wooded area, clad in tattered Philadelphia Eagles sweatshirt and sporting unkempt, grimy hair.
MANHUNT OVER: Police applauded after catching convicted killer that was in US illegally, causing mayhem in Pennsylvania. https://t.co/HJDCqJ0khN pic.twitter.com/BQHHL4NMQ2
— Fox News (@FoxNews) September 13, 2023
Cavalcante’s gruesome crime was the first-degree murder of his girlfriend, Deborah Brandão, in April 2021, for which he was sentenced to life in prison without parole. He mercilessly stabbed her 38 times in front of her two young children. The Chester County District Attorney, Deb Ryan, presented graphic details about the heinous murder during the trial.
A 4-year-old police dog named Yoda detained fugitive Danilo Cavalcante, bringing an end to the exhaustive, nearly 2 week-long manhunt. https://t.co/reCBSUiX6H pic.twitter.com/PyoOwiiI1W
— CNN (@CNN) September 14, 2023
Cavalcante’s brazen prison escape from Chester County Prison shocked the local community. Authorities revealed that he had “crab-walked” up two walls and exited through the front door. He then fled to Chester County’s woods, where he evaded the police for almost two weeks, despite intensive search efforts.
@USMS_Philly was proud to support the @PAStatePolice 2-week manhunt for Danelo Calvalcante. The U.S. Marshals Service provided investigative expertise and significant technical resources. Thank you to all the LE agencies and the community for supporting this operation. pic.twitter.com/QLfGMQUaIA
— U.S. Marshals Service Philadelphia (@USMS_Philly) September 13, 2023
Cavalcante’s background was that of a hardened criminal. He had fled to the US to escape murder charges in his home country in 2017, and had entered the US illegally, as confirmed by the Department of Homeland Security. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) had become aware of his previous charges in Brazil after his arrest for the murder of his girlfriend.
The police struggled to contain Cavalcante as he repeatedly evaded them, at one point even stealing a rifle and escaping in a shootout. Reports suggest that when criminals like Cavalcante are arrested for serious or violent crimes, ICE applies for an immigration detainer to deport them back to their home country. However, ICE is overwhelmed with thousands of pending detainers, and it is not always possible to deport all criminal illegal immigrants. In fact, in the 2022 fiscal year alone, ICE issued 78,829 detainers for non-citizens with criminal histories, including 1,751 for homicide-related offenses, 1,911 for kidnappings, 2,934 for robberies, 8,450 for sex crimes, and 26,186 for assaults, according to the New York Times.
Cavalcante’s mother, who was interviewed by the New York Times, attributed her son’s survival in the harsh, wooded environment of Chester County to his troubled upbringing in rural Brazil, where he was forced to fend for himself on the streets. But this is no excuse for his heinous crime or his prison escape. Such criminals must face the full weight of the law, and the government must prioritize deporting them to their home countries. The citizens deserve to be protected from such dangerous criminals, and the authorities must take swift and harsh action against them. The horrific case of Danelo Cavalcante should jolt the government into strengthening its immigration policies, closing loopholes, and redoubling efforts to apprehend and deport all criminal illegal immigrants. The safety and security of American citizens must be the topmost priority of our government.
