Danelo Cavalcante updates: Captured killer gives details of time on run as police under fire for group photo

Pennsylvania state police pose for a group victory photo with Danelo Cavalcante at the forefront, after they caught the escaped killer on Wednesday.

A large group of police officers, all dressed in military camouflage uniforms, gathered around the escaped killer after an exhausting two-week manhunt.

In the video, you can see one military personnel hand his phone over to another officer, before all gathering around for a photo with the fugitive. Some officers posed by crouching on the floor, one kneeling with his gun in hand next to Mr Cavalcante. Another officer made sure his police K-9 was in the shot.

Jim Martin, the manager of a Little’s John Deere dealership, said that Cavalcante’s arrest took place just outside of his business.

“We saw them checking the tree lines and out of nowhere everybody started congregating back by the shed and then we saw him walk him up,” Mr Martin told NBC 10. “One camouflage had his rifle and walked him up and EMS started working on him in the parking lot.”

Cavalcante was hiding under logs in a shed when he was surprised by law enforcement.

Calvalcante was finally taken back into custody after a 14-day multi-agency manhunt that spanned more than 25 miles. For nearly two weeks, Cavalcante eluded hundreds of SWAT, FBI, state, federal and local enforcement officers in full combat gear, as well as tracking dogs, and police on horseback and on aircraft.

It was a US Border Patrol’s tactical unit (BORTAC) that finally made the capture shortly after 8am. Dozens of agents in the special operations unit celebrated the major development with a victory photo next to a defeated, bloodied and handcuffed Cavalcante.

The key participant in the imminent capture, a K-9 who surprised Cavalcante and tackled him to the ground, also posed front row next to its handler for the photo.

Cavalcante was arrested without incident shortly after 8am on Wednesday, Governor Josh Shapiro confirmed during a press conference.

“I want to say thank you to the public for their vigilance,” Gov Shapiro said. “This has been a tough and concerning time. We want to thank you for your support to law enforcement and for your support to the efforts that led to this capture.”

The fugitive was found hiding under logs inside a shed at a business dealership in Pottstown with the rifle he had previously stolen from a home in South Coventry Township, FOX29 reports. Aerial footage of the capture showed dozens of Border Patrol tactical unit officers surrounding Cavalcante, who was wearing a grey Eagles hooded sweatshirt and dark pants.

Officers then cleaned Cavalcante’s bloodied face and escorted him out of the woods and into a SWAT tactical car, where they proceeded to cut off Cavalcante’s clothing.

Cavalcante’s processing at the Pennsylvania State Police barracks in Avondale was finished on Wednesday, FOX29 reports.

The murder convict was expected to be transferred to a high-security state facility.

Just a day before Cavalcante was captured on Wednesday, his mother Iracema Cavalcante said in an interview with The New York Times that she believed her 34-year-old son would be better off dead than spending the rest of his life behind bars for the April 2021 murder of his former girlfriend Deborah Brandao.

“If it’s to go to a place to suffer and die in that place, it’s better to die soon,” Ms Cavalcante told the Times on Tuesday. “You don’t have to suffer so much.”

Ms Cavalante acknowledged that her son killed his former ex-girlfriend in front of her young children but claimed that he only did it because he felt cornered.

“Did it happen? It happened,” Ms Cavalcante told the Times. “But it happened because of the stranglehold she put on him, the stance she took with him … It wasn’t femicide. He had to, he had no other choice.”

Fugitive murder convict Danelo Cavalcante has finally been captured 14 days after his prison escape in northwestern Pennsylvania.

For nearly two weeks following his escape from the Chester County Prison on 31 August, Cavalcante not only eluded hundreds of US Marshalls, SWAT, FBI and state and local law enforcement officers but also managed to sneak past the established search perimeter time and time again – and even stole a rifle from a home.

Over the weekend, the fugitive drove more than 25 miles from his initial hiding spot in Longwood Gardens after stealing a van that he then discarded in East Nantmeal Township. Then on Monday night, he broke inside a garage in South Coventry Township and stole a .22 rifle before fleeing the scene.

Residents of the suburban Pennsylvania county grew increasingly frustrated as police scrambled to keep up with Cavalcante’s moves.

Finally, on Wednesday morning, police announced Cavalcante’s capture.

Here’s a timeline of the stunning case:

Lt Col George Bivens said on Wednesday that a K-9 with Border Patrol had helped agents surprise Cvaalcante and secure his capture.

Cavalcante sustained a minor injury on his scalp from the confrontation with the dog. A Border Patrol told The Independent that the K9 behind the heroic efforts was a four-year-old Belgian Malinois named Yoda.

“The men and women of US Customs and Border Protection provide integral law enforcement support to local authorities, protecting and serving local communities around the country alongside our partners,” the spokesperson said. “Today’s actions are the latest demonstration of how our agents and officers bring incredible capability, additional interagency communications technology, and dedication to keep our communities safe. Most importantly, all those involved in the search were able to return home safe following the end to this manhunt.”

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro said that Danelo Cavalcante was captured just after 8am local time on Wednesday morning.

“He was apprehended with no shots fired,” he said.

“First and foremost, thank god there were no injuries to law enforcement or the public… we were deeply concerned after the supect was able to [get a firearm]”.

The governor thanked the “extraordinary work of law enforcement officials” including Pennsylvania State Police, federal partners and local officials.