Danelo Cavalcante Update: Escaped Prisoner Gets Rifle Amid Manhunt, Search Area Revealed

Escaped Brazilian prisoner Danelo Cavalcante is still on the loose in Pennsylvania, and police learned that he has gotten his hands on a rifle.

According to CBS News, Cavalcante, who fled Brazil and lived in Pennsylvania after he was accused of murder in 2017, stole a .22 caliber rifle from a garage on Monday, as was revealed by the Pennsylvania State Police.

The escaped convict has now also changed his clothes and footwear, discarding a T-shirt and sweatshirt that he was wearing. Police are now searching a roughly eight-square-mile area around Chester County where he escaped the local prison.

"He's killed two people previously, I would suspect that he's desperate enough to use that weapon," said State Police Lt. Col George Bivens, who noted that after Cavalcante discarded his clothing, he was last seen "shirtless and wearing pants and work boots."

What Led to Danelo Cavalcante Getting a Rifle?

A man crouching in a tree line was seen by a driver on Fairview Road south of Route 100, with Bivens saying that the driver tried to verify what he saw, but the man was already gone. A Border Patrol team was then sent to the scene but were unable to find the fugitive. Instead, they found footprints matching Cavalcante's prison shoes. As for where he found his new footwear, another resident nearby reported work boots being stolen.

The Brazil man reportedly was seen fleeing from that sighting when he broke into the garage of a home near French Creek Elementary School. There, he stole the .22 caliber rifle, which has a scope and flashlight. However, it is still unclear if that stolen rifle was loaded, but he is now armed and dangerous.

The homeowner spotted Danelo Cavalcante making his escape and even fired a few rounds into the escaped convict. Police, however, believed that Cavalcante was uninjured and made his escape safely.

"I think he went in there probably trying to hide, the garage door was open, and he didn't, I believe, recognize that the owner was in there. ... Ran for that garage, saw the firearm, grabbed that, encountered the homeowner and fled with the firearm," said Bivens at the news conference.

According to the BBC, police are now searching a roughly 10 square mile perimeter in South Coventry Township. It is located just northwest of Philadelphia. It has also been reported that he has already shaved his beard and has stolen a local dairy farm's van.

Who is Danelo Cavalcante and How Did He Escape?

On August 31, after being convicted of murdering his ex-girlfriend in front of her children a week before, Danelo Cavalcante "crab walked" between two walls and scaled a fence. He then crossed a razor wire fence to escape Chester County Prison, starting a now-2-week manhunt for him.

Cavalcante was originally from Brazil. After being accused of a 2017 murder, he escaped the country under a false name and fled to Pennsylvania. There, he started a relationship with Deborah Brandão, who is of Brazilian descent.

In April 2021, however, he stabbed her 38 times in front of her two young children, killing her and threatening the two kids. According to CNN, he might have killed Brandão for threatening to expose Cavalcante to police as a wanted man back in Brazil.

Since his escape, the Brazilian national has since evaded police dogs, highly-armed SWAT teams, and aircraft.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

WATCH: How did search for escaped prisoner Danelo Cavalcante get to this point? - CBS Philadelphia