Convicted murderer Danelo Cavalcante is second inmate to escape from Chester County jail this year, officials say – NBC10 Philadelphia

As officers continue to search for Danelo Cavalcante, the convicted murderer who escaped from a Chester County jail last week, NBC10 learned new details about another prisoner who investigators say escaped from the same jail earlier in the year before he was caught the same day.

The previous escape occurred on the morning of May 19 at the Chester County Jail in West Chester, Pennsylvania.

During an interview with investigators, a correctional officer said he was assigned to monitor the exercise yards in Sections 5 and 6 of the prison from 6 a.m. that morning. The officer told investigators that he inspected the yard areas around 5:55 a.m. and was ready to accept the drill for inmates.

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The officer said inmates in Section 5 — which was separated from Section 6 by a concrete wall and fence — began fighting while playing basketball. The dispute distracted the officer from the Section 6 exercise area, officials said.

Looking back at the Section 6 practice area, the officer spotted an orange object on the roofline as well as an inmate, later identified as 30-year-old Igor Bolte, running west on the prison roof toward the main entrance area.

Bolte’s escape was reported at 6:20 a.m. that morning, investigators said. Five minutes later, prison officials reported that responding officers captured Bolte in a residential neighborhood on Linni Drive in Pocopson Township, about a half-mile from the prison.

Investigators said Bolte’s clothes were soaked. Bolte told correctional officers he jumped into a swimming pool in his escape, according to the affidavit with probable cause.

During his interview, Bolte allegedly said his experience as a rock climber enabled him to escape.

According to the affidavit, Bolte told investigators he placed his legs against one wall and his arms against another wall. Then he is said to have scaled the wall and pulled himself onto the roof of the prison. When he reached the roof, Bolte ran over and climbed down the building’s visitor entrance, where there was less security, investigators said. Officials said Bolte then ran across the car park through the field in front of the prison before reaching the West Chester borough.

A source told the Philadelphia Inquirer that Cavalcante used a method similar to Bolte’s when he escaped from the Chester County Jail on Thursday. However, NBC10 has not confirmed this.