The escaped Pennsylvania inmate was finally taken down after a massive two-week manhunt by a police dog that bit him on the head
- The escaped Pennsylvania prison inmate was captured early Wednesday after a massive manhunt.
- A police dog took the fugitive down and bit the 34-year-old fugitive on the head, authorities said.
The escaped Pennsylvania prison inmate was finally captured early Wednesday following a massive two-week-long manhunt after a police dog named Yoda caught the fugitive and bit him on the head, authorities said.
Convicted killer Danelo Cavalcante was taken into police custody in a heavily wooded area in northern Chester County after the escaped prisoner, who was armed with a stolen rifle, tried to crawl through thick underbrush as tactical teams zoned in on him.
That's when a team with US Customs and Border Protection released a K9 with the Border Patrol Tactical Unit and the police dog ultimately "subdued" 34-year-old Cavalcante, Pennsylvania State Police Lt. Col. George Bivens said during a press conference.
The K9 — which a US Customs and Border Protection spokesman told Insider is a 4-year-old Belgian Malinois named Yoda — left Cavalcante with a scalp wound that was described by Bivens as "minor."
After the police dog pinned the fugitive down, law enforcement teams quickly moved in on Cavalcante.
"He continued to resist, but was forcibly taken into custody," Bivens said, explaining that no one was hurt during the arrest.
Bivens applauded the BORTAC dog for its efforts, saying, "K9's play a very important role, not only for tracking, but also for just like a circumstance like this — safely capturing someone."
Cavalcante, who is also wanted in connection to a homicide in his native Brazil, escaped the Chester County Prison nearly two weeks ago by crab-walking up a wall and climbing over a razor wire.
Since his brazen August 31 escape, Cavalcante managed to evade the hundreds of police officers as they actively searched for him across a wooded, miles-long perimeter in northern Chester County.
While on-the-run, he terrorized local residents as he was spotted more than a dozen times and even shot at by a homeowner.
Thermal heat technology from an aircraft overhead allowed police to pick up a trail on Cavalcante at around 1 a.m. on Wednesday, authorities said.
Weather interrupted the thermal tracking, but authorities picked it back up Wednesday morning.
"Shortly after 8 am, tactical teams converged on the area where the heat source was," Bivens said. "They were able to move in very quietly. They had the element of surprise."
Bivens added, "Cavalcante did not realize he was surrounded until that had occurred."
Meanwhile, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro commended law enforcement for the capture of Cavalcante as well as the public who provided countless tips to authorities as Cavalcante hid out.