Schools near Philadelphia, in the northeast of the United States, were closed again on Tuesday and residents were asked to stay at home by police, on the 13th day of tracking a “dangerous” criminal escaped from prison, now “armed”.
In the latest episode of this increasingly embarrassing manhunt for authorities, Danelo Cavalcante, 34, entered a property in South Coventry, about 30 miles northwest of Philadelphia, on Monday evening and seized a 22 long rifle that was in the garage, announced Lieutenant Colonel George Bivens of the Pennsylvania State Police.
According to the police officer, the owner shot the fugitive, without injuring him, when he managed to escape.
Sentenced in mid-August to life in prison for stabbing his former girlfriend to death, “Cavalcante is considered armed and extremely dangerous,” he warned, specifying that the rifle was equipped with “a telescope and a lamp.
As the hunt intensifies, residents have once again been called upon to close the doors of their homes and vehicles, and “stay inside” their homes, in this large, rural and wooded suburb of Philadelphia. Like last week, several local schools are closed.
The police have installed several roadblocks and are controlling the comings and goings of vehicles, reported an AFP photographer. Armored vehicles and police rapid response teams (SWAT) were deployed.
“Our farm is being flown over by helicopters, and there are a lot of police forces. It’s really a manhunt, there are (police officers) walking through the property, through the woods,” described by telephone to AFP Becki Patterson, manager of Lundale Farm, a neighboring agricultural operation.
The farm covers more than 220 hectares, and “there are trees, streams, bridges, all kinds of corners to squeeze through. So it’s really stressful,” she adds, judging that the “police are doing an incredible job” in difficult terrain.
Nearly two weeks after the escape of the Brazilian criminal, the time is getting longer and longer for the police, who have positioned hundreds of agents on the ground, supported by helicopters, drones and search dogs.
Cavalcante was spotted several times on video surveillance cameras, but each time he was able to escape from the search perimeters set up by the Pennsylvania police, supported by the FBI and US Marshals, specialized in tracking fugitives.
On Sunday, new photos were released, dating back to the previous night, where the fugitive appears clean-shaven, presumably to change his appearance after the publication of a wanted notice in which he had a black beard.
Cavalcante also managed to steal a white van, found abandoned on Sunday, probably because he was low on gas.
According to police, he sought help from two acquaintances, who notified authorities. His sister, illegally present in the United States, was arrested.
His mother, who lives in rural Brazil, told the New York Times she was not surprised by her son’s ability to evade authorities in the United States, because he had already managed to do so in Brazil, where he is accused of killing a man.
Iracema Cavalcante also laments in the interview about the prospect of her son ending his days in prison in the United States, saying it is better to “die soon” rather than “arrive somewhere to suffer and die.” .
Danelo Cavalcante, rather slight at around 1.52 m and 54 kg according to a wanted poster, managed to escape on August 31 from Chester County Prison, a 40-minute drive south of the current one. search area.
The escape, video of which was recorded by a prison camera and released by authorities, was as spectacular as it was embarrassing for prison officials.
In the extract, we see the prisoner, white t-shirt, blue pants and white sneakers, hiding in a recess of the exercise yard, then climbing agilely, spider-man style, his body horizontally between two walls , and disappear onto the roof.
The inmate was sentenced on August 22 to life imprisonment for stabbing his former girlfriend to death, in front of the victim’s child, during an argument in April 2021.
09/13/2023 03:30:50 – Bucktown (United States) (AFP) – ©2023 AFP