A Belgian malinois named Yoda captured Danelo Cavalcante, grabbing the fugitive murderer as he tried to crawl away from tactical teams who swarmed him by surprise Wednesday morning.
An aircrew spotted a heat signature early Wednesday morning with a thermal camera, Pennsylvania State Police Lt. Col George Bivens told reporters after the 34-year-old convicted murderer had been taken into custody, as CrimeOnline reported. The signal was on the move, Bivens said, but the aircraft was forced out of the sky by a thunderstorm.
Tactical teams from US Customs and Border Patrol and state police set up a perimeter around the northern Chester County area “as best they could,” Bivens said, and waited until the storm blew over.
Just after 8 a.m., the teams moved in. Cavalcante, in thick underbrush, was taken by surprise. He tried to crawl away, but the BORTAC (Border Patrol Tactical Team) agents let loose 4-year-old Yoda, who did his job.
CAPTURED || Combined efforts by BORTAC, BORSTAR, and AMO GTAC with Pennsylvania authorities led to the capture of Cavalcante, the convicted murderer that escaped a prison near Philadelphia on August 31st pic.twitter.com/7LcFMWLc4n
— Chief Patrol Agent Tim Sullivan (@USBPChiefSOG) September 13, 2023
”Border Patrol agents and [Yoda] surprised Cavalcante, who surrendered without firing his weapon,” a Border Patrol spokesperson said, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Bivens explained that tactical dogs are trained to go in and “grab” a suspect and hold on until handlers get to the spot and take over.
Yoda bit Cavalcante’s scalp and then grabbed his thigh, according to Deputy US Marshal Robert Clark, who added, “at which time, Cavalcante submitted.”
“I think he was in pain at that point,” Clark said. “He was probably in excruciating pain.”
@USMS_Philly was proud to support the @PAStatePolice 2-week manhunt for Danelo Calvalcante. The U.S. Marshals Service provided investigative expertise and significant technical resources. Thank you to all the LE agencies and the community for supporting this operation. pic.twitter.com/QLfGMQUaIA
— U.S. Marshals Service Philadelphia (@USMS_Philly) September 13, 2023
Cavalcante escaped Chester County Prison on August 31 and stayed a step ahead of searchers for two weeks, despite being spotted multiple times. For the first 10 days, the search stayed fairly close to the jail he escaped, in and near Longwood Gardens, a popular botanical garden.
But on Saturday, he slipped through the perimeter, stole a dairy farm’s delivery van, and drove 20 miles north, where he tried to contact former co-workers and shaved his beard and mustache.
Some 500 law enforcement officers were involved in the search by the beginning of the week, when he ditched his prison shoes for some stolen boots and stole a rifle from a garage — fleeing with the weapon as the homeowner fired at him with a pistol.
Just after midnight on Tuesday, a burglar alarm near the search area alerted teams, who couldn’t find him. An hour later, the fixed wing aircraft with the thermal camera found a heat signature on the run. Cavalcante’s time of freedom was nearly done.
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[Featured image: Yoda/US Customs and Border Patrol and Yoda taking down Cavalcante/US Marshals Service]
