'It just changes your whole mindset': Pennsylvania community reacts to capture of escapee

Chester County, Pennsylvania, residents on Wednesday rejoiced at the news of escaped killer Danelo Cavalcante’s capture, who was taken into custody Wednesday morning by authorities after a nearly two-week hunt for the 34-year-old fugitive.

The small, rural South Coventry Township located in northern Chester County has been terrorized by Cavalcante for days after he stole a dairy van near Longwood Gardens, drove it to Phoenixville then dumped it in a field in East Nantmeal Township over the weekend.

Then, on Monday, Cavalcante stole a .22-caliber rifle with a scope and flashlight, upping the ante for capturing the Brazilian native who escaped Chester County Prison on Aug. 31, a week after being sentenced to life without parole for fatally stabbing his ex-girlfriend Deborah Brandao in front of her two young children.

Cavalcante was finally captured Wednesday morning hiding near a pile of logs at a tractor store on Route 100 near Prizer Road.

"Nothing runs like a Deere! Not even Danelo Cavalcante!" the tractor store, Little's, posted on its Facebook page Wednesday.

While the search for Cavalcante in South Coventry Township lasted about three days, the manhunt shut down a 5-mile stretch of Route 100, a 3-mile stretch of Route 23, and various residential and rural side streets, inconveniencing thousands of drivers and forcing businesses to close and residents to shelter in place.

Farms, businesses impacted by search

Local farmer Brian Donovan said the manhunt limited what he and staff at Horse Shoe Ranch on Coventryville Road could do.

“We had to keep our staff back (from doing) all the chores we’d normally do. We weren’t collecting eggs,” he said. “We could only move our cows so much because there are woods surrounding everything.”

Donovan said the search intensified on Tuesday, which halted work at the farm as authorities searched the woods and helicopters circled low hunting for Cavalcante.

At Equine Exchange Tack Shop on Route 23, store manager Brook Polkus said the search didn’t impact business hours or operations, but it did keep customers away.

Polkus said business was slow Monday (the shop is not open to the public on Tuesdays). Those who did venture out “weren’t happy about it” as they were forced to take roundabout alternate routes to avoid the search perimeter, she said.

“Not many people came into the store because of how close he was to the area,” Polkus said. “A lot of people were sheltered in place, which obviously affected the business.”

‘It just changes your whole mindset’

Despite the impacts and inconvenience, South Coventry businesses, farmers and residents expressed relief that Cavalcante has finally been captured.

“We’re happy that he is caught and everything can go back to normal,” Polkus said.

The township, with a population of about 2,700 people, represents less than 1% of the total Chester County population, U.S. Census Bureau statistics show.

The 7.5-square-mile township is primarily residential with numerous farms, parks and other greenspace. French Creek flows through the community and several tributaries feed into it. Open land is surrounded by dense wooded areas with thick underbrush.

Authorities have stressed these conditions made searching for Cavalcante difficult as it offered many opportunities for the escaped murderer to hide and evade capture.

The experience has changed how many view their rural, once-considered safe and secure community.

Jenn Berryman, who lives on Sunrise Drive off of Route 23, said she's been on edge since Sunday after news broke that Cavalcante had ditched a van in a field in nearby East Nantmeal Township.

"I feel like I have run a marathon the last three days, and I’m physically and mentally exhausted now," she said.

Berryman was glued to livestreams on YouTube that followed the search in real time with police scanner intel and aviation tracking. The experience was unnerving, prompting her to lock doors and check her shed daily to make sure everything was secure, she said.

Traveling to and from work also became arduous with so many road closures.

"It took me an hour and a half to get home and back when it usually takes me 20 minutes," she said.

Donovan said before the manhunt, the farm often left outbuildings unlocked and keys in cars.

“It just changes your whole mindset,” he said, adding they’re considering adding lights and security cameras. “We just hope that it’s not more than a one-time thing.”

Got a tip? Contact Amanda Fries at afries@delawareonline.com. Follow her on X at @mandy_fries.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: How the manhunt for Cavalcante shook a rural Pennsylvania community