Chester County residents voice anger, concerns at town hall after Danilo Cavalcante prison escape: ‘I couldn’t sleep’

With Danilo Cavalcante secured at the state correctional institution at Phoenix, residents in Chester County have begun this week to ask questions about how the convicted murderer was able to escape custody and lead state police on a two-week manhunt.

County commissioners and prison officials, anticipating this demand for clarity, scheduled the first of what they promised to be a series of community meetings Monday night at Pocopson Elementary School. Residents packed into the event, just four miles from the prison where Cavalcante crabwalked his way to freedom Aug. 31, calling on their elected leaders to explain how the killer was able to roam freely through the woods in their backyards.

The first question out of nearly every speaker’s mouth was simple: How could prison officials let this happen, especially for the second time in just a few months?

Brian Kerr said he and his family lived in fear during the entire manhunt, and had little relief from it: He works at Longwood Gardens, where Cavalcante was believed to be hiding for several days, and lives two miles from the prison.

As the search intensified, Kerr said he got into the nightly habit of walking his dogs in his backyard with one hand on their leashes and the other on his 9mm pistol. When Cavalcante stole a van from Baily’s Dairy, not far from Kerr’s home, a helicopter buzzed low overhead, just 75 feet above where he had been cutting grass.

”I don’t think you have that at your house,” Kerr said. “I couldn’t sleep. My kids couldn’t sleep. My wife couldn’t sleep.”

» READ MORE: West Chester man says escaped murderer Danilo Cavalcante took food from his home

Cavalcante, 34, fled the county prison using the exact same method another inmate, Igor Bolte, used in May, exploiting a narrow walkway in a corner of an exercise yard to climb onto the facility’s roof. Unlike Bolte, who was captured minutes after he fled, Cavalcante led local, state and federal authorities on a 14-day, 22-mile manhunt, which ended early Wednesday with his capture behind a tractor dealership in South Coventry Township.

He was taken back to prison to begin serving a life sentence for first-degree murder in the 2021 stabbing of his ex-girlfriend, Deborah Brandao.

During his time on the run, Cavalcante moved only at night, survived off foraged produce and pilfered supplies, and stole a van and rifle along the way.

» READ MORE: Two weeks on edge: How law enforcement tracked down an escaped murderer in Chester County

Acting Warden Howard Holland offered an apology Monday night to the residents assembled, saying that even though Cavalcante escaped during his first day on the job, he takes responsibility for the incident. Holland’s predecessor, Ronald Phillips, retired the day before Cavalcante escaped.

“The concern I had for everyone in this room and their families was at the top of my mind that day,” Holland said. “I love serving this community, and we let you down.”

Holland outlined multiple ways he and his staff plan on beefing up security at the prison, which, he admitted during questioning from residents, is currently operating at about 60% staffing capacity.

Holland previously said at a news conference after Cavalcante’s escape that a prison guard posted at an observational tower at the time of the escape was placed on administrative leave. The next day, a source at the prison told The Inquirer that the guard had been fired, and that he had his personal cellphone with him while on duty in an apparent violation of prison policy.

After Bolte escaped in May, the prison added razor wire across the gap he climbed through, but additional razor wire planned for the perimeter of the building’s roof has not been installed, due to a supply shortage, according to Holland.

Now, after Cavalcante’s escape, the prison has added more razor wire in the area that he scaled, as well as panels of fine wire mesh to cover the gap that he climbed through.

”The measures post-Bolte were not sufficient and combined with human error, led to Cavalcante’s escape,” Holland said.

The acting warden promised additional improvements in the coming months, including more wire mesh around perimeter fences to prevent climbing, an additional 50-75 security cameras, and a dedicated officer to monitor those cameras 24/7.

» READ MORE: A step-by-step look at Danilo Cavalcante’s escape, search, and capture

Some of those new cameras will be motion-activated and supplemented by alarms that will notify security if anything touches the outside fence. Prison officials are also looking into instituting a drone program to monitor inmates during recreation hours. A pilot GPS-monitoring program is also being considered for high-risk inmates, Holland said.

”I want you to honestly know, from the bottom of my heart, that I am embarrassed and angry for what happened,” Holland said. “But I’m here to tell you that I believe I can make things better.”

Some residents, including Kirk Harman, questioned if these improvements will be enough, given the apparent staffing issues.

“This county needs to think seriously, from this day forward, if it’s going to accept high-risk inmates,” said Harman, a 27-year resident of Pocopson Township. “Is it even safe to operate a prison at the current staffing levels? Seems like a common sense answer to me.”

As Chester County officials work to shore up their own prison after two inmate escapes, other jails in the region are taking note. Prison officials in Montgomery County conducted a security check of the correctional facility in Eagleville on the same day that Cavalcante escaped, a county spokesperson said last week.

Cell doors, windows, and outside fences were reviewed, along with the facility’s entrances and exits, the spokesperson said.

“Although we do not have plans for any structural changes to the facility, we reinforce and reiterate to the staff that security checks continue, as always in accordance with our policy and procedures,” the spokesperson said.