Danelo Cavalcante escaped from a prison near Philadelphia on August 31st, days after receiving a life sentence for homicide.

Cavalcante is a former gang member who is wanted in Brazil for the murder of a man who owed him money. The report said Cavalcante had been held at the Chester County Prison since his arrest in 2021. It said he was being held there for an additional 30 days after his sentencing, before a planned transfer to the state prison system while he and his lawyers decided whether to appeal his conviction. 

Officials say that Danelo Cavalcante was last seen wearing a white T-shirt, gray shorts, and white sneakers and that if you see him do not approach he is a very dangerous man, and instead you should call 911 and report to the authorities. “If you see him, do not approach him,” officials said. “We’re asking you to please contact 911. He is considered extremely dangerous.”

Residents within a 6-mile radius of the prison have been notified of the escape, and authorities believe that he has been outside Philadelphia since Friday, August 25th.

Police suspect Danelo Cavalcante might still be hiding in Longwood Gardens, a sprawling horticulture attraction about 5 miles southwest of the prison he escaped from six days ago in Pocopson Township.

“He’s trying to escape and that’s what he managed to do. He found a point that he could squeeze through that perimeter and he traveled south,” Lt. Col. George Bevins, deputy commissioner of operations for the Pennsylvania State Police, said at a news conference Tuesday.

Bevins said Longwood Gardens, which was closed on Tuesday due to the search, is just south of a perimeter police had established in a residential area where Cavalcante was at night by a state trooper.