Danelo Cavalcante pleads guilty in connection with escape from Chester County Jail

WEST CHESTER, Pa. (CBS) — Danelo Cavalcante wasn'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 ruled on the charges related to his escape from the county jail last year, Sparking A two weeks The manhunt sent rescue dogs, state police search crews, helicopters and drones to much of rural and suburban Chester County – and drew the nation's attention to the area west of Philadelphia.

Cavalcante pleaded guilty to escape and burglary charges on Friday and was immediately sentenced to 15 to 30 years in prison in addition to his existing life sentence. Cavalcante did not comment in court.

The residents were nervous for two weeks after Cavalcante walked in a “crab walk” up the wall of an outer courtyard of the prison and was not found. Police set up several search areas, which were moved from time to time when investigators realized he had eluded them once again.

There were several confirmed sightings of Cavalcante during the manhunt on surveillance cameras – and towards the end confronted him after he allegedly stole a rifle from a garage.

He was eventually caught after a Drug Enforcement Administration-controlled aircraft spotted Cavalcante on a thermal imaging camera. Tactical ground teams also moved into the area of ​​the thermal signal and began closing in on the location.

A John Deere tractor and lawn mower shop owner watched from a loading dock as dozens of police officers swarmed the wooded area. behind his store in South Coventry Township and pulled Cavalcante out of the brush and thickets.

Chopper 3 was the only news helicopter flying overhead when Cavalcante was taken into custodywearing a Philadelphia Eagles hoodie and bleeding from a bite from a police dog that tried to subdue him.

Cavalcante's most recent prison sentence was in State Correctional Institution Greene in Waynesburg, about 50 miles south of Pittsburgh.

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