WEST CHESTER, Pa. (CBS) — Danelo Cavalcante isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, already sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of his ex-girlfriend, Deborah Brandao.
But on Friday in a Chester County courtroom, he dropped the charges against him related to his escape from the county jail last year, sparking A two weeks manhunt that sent search and rescue dogs, state police search parties, helicopters and drones into a large rural and suburban area of ​​Chester County, bringing national attention to the area west of Philadelphia.
Cavalcante pleaded guilty Friday to escape and burglary and was immediately sentenced to 15 to 30 years in prison, in addition to his existing life sentence. Cavalcante did not speak in court.
Residents were tense for two weeks after Cavalcante walked like a crab on the wall of an outdoor playground at the prison and was not found. Police set up multiple search perimeters, changing them from time to time as investigators realized he had slipped through their cracks yet again.
There were multiple confirmed sightings of Cavalcante during the surveillance camera manhunt – and towards the end of the hunt, a resident said came face to face with him after he allegedly stole a gun from a garage.
He was eventually captured after a plane operated by the Drug Enforcement Administration detected Cavalcante on thermal imagery. Tactical teams on the ground also moved into the area of ​​the heat signature and began closing in on the location.
A John Deere tractor and lawn mower store owner watched from a loading dock as dozens of police officers stormed into the wooded area behind his business in South Coventry Township and pulled Cavalcante out of the brush and overgrowth.
Helicopter 3 was the only news helicopter flying overhead when Cavalcante was arresteddressed in a Philadelphia Eagles hoodie and bloodied from a bite from a police dog that tried to subdue him.
CBS News Philadelphia
Cavalcante’s most recent prison sentence was in State Correctional Institution Greene in Waynesburg, about 50 miles south of Pittsburgh.
