The killer, who had been on the run for two weeks from a prison in Pennsylvania, in the United States of America, was caught by authorities this Wednesday. Danelo Souza Cavalcante even tried to crawl away to escape, but was stopped by a police dog, which bit him, leading to his arrest, North American CNN reports.
The plane detected a heat signal along the perimeter of the search for the 34-year-old Brazilian, Pennsylvania State Police Lt. Col. George Bivens said. When authorities found him lying in a pile of grass and cornered him, the man crawled until he was bitten by a police dog and then captured, Bivens said.
The fugitive had a shotgun he stole from a Chester man’s garage, about 20 miles from the prison he escaped from Monday night. The owner shot Cavalcante as he fled, but Lt. Col. George Bivens said there was no reason to believe the prisoner suffered any injuries.
Schools in the area closed their doors, and residents of Chester were warned that Cavalcante was armed, asking them to lock their doors and stay home.
A police spokesman said Cavalcante will undergo a “clinical evaluation” before being transferred to another state unit.
A man was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of his ex-girlfriend in April 2021. Deborah Evangelista Brandao was stabbed to death in front of her two children, aged seven and three.
Cavalcante was already wanted by Brazilian authorities for shooting Walter Junior Moreira dos Reis in 2017 over a debt related to car repairs.
Danelo escaped from prison around 8:45 a.m. on August 31.