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Fugitive Murderer Danelo Cavalcante ‘Absolutely Has a Weapon,’ Is ‘Desperate Enough’ to Use It: Cops
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Fugitive killer Danelo Cavalcante is now armed with a rifle he stole from a homeowner inside the north Chester County search area Monday night.

Lt. Col. George Bivens of the Pennsylvania State Police said Cavalcante, 34, walked into an open garage door shortly after 10 p.m. and encountered the homeowner.

“In my opinion, it was a crime of opportunity,” Biven said. “The garage door was open. He didn’t realize the homewoner was in there. He was looking for a place to hide.”

Instead, the homeowner drew a pistol, and Cavalcante grabbed the rifle leaning against a wall and fled as the homeowner fired at him.

“We have no reason to believe he is injured as a result of that shooting,” Biven said. “I think he is just trying to survive and avoid being captured at this point.”

Nevertheless, Bivens said, investigators believe Cavalcante is dangerous and desperate.

“We have always considered him a risk,” he said.” We now absolutely know he has a weapon.”

“He’s killed two people previously. I would suspect that he’s desperate enough to use that weapon.”

While police have not officially asked residents to shelter in place, that have stressed the importance of making sure the homes, outbuildings, and vehicles are locked and secure. Bivens parried questions from reporters about the length of the search and why, with all the sightings — more than two dozen — Cavalcante has remained on the run.

“It’s a large area, wooded,” he said. It’s not something that’s a matter of sending a few people in and searching. It will take a long time to clear that entire area, but we will continue until we do locate him.”

“Nothing has gone wrong,” he added. “Our agencies are all working very well together, and I believe we will be successful in the long run.”

Cavalcante escaped the Chester County Prison on August 31, two weeks after he was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of his ex-girlfriend, Deborah Brandao, as CrimeOnline reported. He was awaiting transfer to a state prison at the time, and was wanted in his native Brazil for an unrelated 2017 murder.

Bivens said Cavalcante acquired the weapons — a .22 caliber rifle equipped with a scope and a flashlight — in the same area of north Chester County where he abandoned the van he stole to escape a police perimeter further south on Saturday. The incident was within the current search area.

About two hours earlier, Bivens said, a motorist spotted a man crouching beside the road in the area. When she turned around to try to confirm what she saw, the man was gone, but she called police and a team responded to the area. A Border Patrol tactical team found footprints in the mud nearby which matched the prison shoes Cavalcante has been wearing since his escape.

A short time later, teams found those shoes and learned that a pair of work boots had been stolen from a residence.

Teams that responded to the gunshots call found a white t-shirt and a green sweatshirt — apparently the one Cavalcante was seen wearing in doorbell camera video on Saturday — near the homeowner’s driveway.

Cavalcante escaped the Chester County Prison on August 31, two week after he was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of his ex-girlfriend, Deborah Brandao, as CrimeOnline reported. He was awaiting transfer to a state prison at the time.

For the first 10 days, the search centered in a relatively small area not far from the prison — notably the botanical garden Longwood Gardens — where Calvante was spotted numerous times on trail cameras. But on Saturday, he slipped past the police perimeter, stole a delivery vehicle from a nearby dairy, and drove 20 miles into the Phoenixville area, where he tried to contact two former co-workers.

Neither of the co-workers were at home, and both contacted police about the attempt. Cavalcante was caught on the doorbell camera at one of the homes, where police saw that he had shaved his beard and mustache to change his appearance.

On Sunday morning, they found the van he stole, abandoned in a field behind the barn.

The nearby Owen J. Roberts School District in Pottstown, which opened on Monday with extra security, announced it would be closed on Tuesday.

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[Featured image: Danelo Cavalcante/Pennsylvania State Police]