- A law enforcement dog named Yoda tackled escaped Pennsylvania prisoner Danelo Cavalcante.
- After two weeks on the run, Cavalcante was finally captured on Wednesday.
- Authorities said Yoda left Cavalcante with a “minor” scalp injury.
After a sprawling two-week-long manhunt, escaped convict Danelo Cavalcante was ultimately brought down by a law enforcement dog named Yoda, authorities told Insider.
Police took Cavalcante, a convicted killer, into custody after a showdown in a heavily wooded area in northern Chester County, Pennsylvania, on Wednesday morning.Â
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 razor wire.
On Wednesday, he was armed with a stolen rifle and trying to crawl through thick underbrush under threat of tactical teams closing in on him when US Customs and Border Protection released Yoda who “subdued” the 34-year-old convict.Â
Yoda is a 4-year-old Belgian Malinois, a spokesperson with Customs and Border Protection told Insider. In a Wednesday press conference, Pennsylvania State Police Lt. Col. George Bivens said Yoda left Cavalcante with a “minor” scalp wound.
After Yoda pinned Cavalcante down, law enforcement teams quickly moved in on him. He eventually surrendered without firing his weapon.
“He continued to resist, but was forcibly taken into custody,” Bivens said, explaining that no one was hurt during the arrest.
Bivens said K9s like Yoda play a “very important role” in authorities’ efforts to capture someone.
Police in the US have long employed trained attack dogs for extra force and speed in the field, but their use has sparked increasing controversy in recent years. While police dog bites are rarely fatal, they can leave people with significant injuries. Police dogs bite thousands of Americans each year, including innocent bystanders and their own handlers, The Marshall Project reported in 2020.
Insider’s Hannah Beckler reported this year that patrol dogs are also terrorizing and mauling prisoners inside US prisons, often attacking people who are shackled or prone, and leaving victims and witnesses with long-lasting trauma.
Cavalcante escaped prison on August 31 in a brazen breakout captured on video. For nearly two weeks he was able to evade hundreds of police officers as they actively searched for him across a miles-long perimeter in northern Chester County.Â
Residents in the region were on edge for days amid numerous sightings of Cavalcante.
Police used thermal heat technology to pick up Cavalcante’s trail around 1 a.m. on Wednesday, authorities said.Â
“Cavalcante did not realize he was surrounded until that had occurred,” Bivens said in a Wednesday press conference.
A spokesperson with Customs and Border Protection told Insider that members of the agency’s BORTAC K9 unit worked in tandem with Pennsylvania State Police and other law enforcement to surround Cavalcante on Wednesday.
“Most importantly, all those involved in the search were able to return home safe following the end to this manhunt,” a spokesperson with US Customs and Border said.