Danelo Cavalcante: Former escaped Pennsylvania prisoner held for trial following court appearance
KENNETT SQUARE, Pa. - Danelo Cavalcante, a Chester County prisoner whose escape last fall sparked a weeks-long manhunt, appeared in court Friday morning where a judge ordered he be held over for trial on charges related to his escape.
The Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office filed more than 20 charges against Cavalcante in November after he was recaptured.
A long-haird and shackled Cavalcante sauntered into the courthouse in an orange prison jumpsuit, guided by prison staff members.
In a 2-hour and 24-minute preliminary hearing, prosecutors called 11 witnesses, laying out a case against Cavalcante, including Chester County prison guards, an acquaintance of Cavalcante and homeowners who encountered him.
One man testified Cavalcante broke into his home and stole a backpack, a shirt, knife, a razor and his daughter’s sleeping bag.
Cavalcante, 34, is already serving a life sentence at SCI Phoenix for the 2021 murder of his ex-girlfriend Deborah Brandão in Chester County.
Danelo Cavalcante, 34, was escorted into a Chester County courtroom this morning to face a judge on charges related to his escape.
Cavalcante, a native of Brazil, escaped by using his arms and legs to scale a narrow corridor and onto the roof of Chester County Prison on Aug. 31.
Local and federal law enforcement officers spent nearly two weeks scouring countryside towns around Kennett Square for the escaped prisoner.
Cavalcante was spotted several times on trail cameras trudging through the lush wooded areas surrounding Longwood Gardens during his time on the run.
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Timeline: How the manhunt for escaped killer Danelo Cavalcante unfolded
The frantic manhunt for escaped killer Danelo Cavalcante came to an end Wednesday following a two-week-long search that paralyzed rural Pennsylvania communities.
A former co-worker called police when Cavalcante showed up on his doorbell camera asking for help after several days on the run.
CAVALCANTE MANHUNT
- Danelo Cavalcante captured: Escaped killer subdued by K9 before being apprehended in 14-day search
- Danelo Cavalcante: Escaped killer spotted near Phoenixville; stolen van found abandoned
- Danelo Cavalcante: Chester County shops, restaurants see business down as manhunt continues
- Danelo Cavalcante: Prison guard on-duty when killer escaped Chester County prison fired
The search for Cavalcante began to heat up after he allegedly stole a dairy truck in Kennett Square and ditched it when it nearly ran out of gas in East Nantmeal.
There, a homeowner encountered Cavlacante in his garage and fired at the fugitive as he fled, who grabbed a rifle on his way out.
Police used infrared technology to pick up a heat signature they used to track Cavalcante to a woodpile behind a tractor supply business where he was captured on Sept. 13.
In Friday's hearing, his defense team offered no witnesses or evidence.
The judge immediately held Cavalcante for trial and he was returned to prison and awaits a court date.