Chester County Prison is a prison operated by

Chester County, Pennsylvania Chester County (Pennsylvania Dutch language, Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Tscheschter Kaundi''), colloquially referred to as Chesco, is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is located in ...

, located in Pocopson Township, with a

West Chester, Pennsylvania West Chester is a borough (Pennsylvania), borough and the county seat of Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. Located in the Delaware Valley, Philadelphia metropolitan area, the borough had a population of 18,671 at the 2020 census. West ...

postal address. It has the capacity to hold 1,100 inmates, both men and women, and as of June 30, 2023, has a population of 702. The county prison drew national attention with the escape of inmate and Brazilian native

Danilo Cavalcante Danilo Souza Cavalcante (; born July 3, 1989) is a Brazilian national accused of murder in the Brazilian state of Tocantins and a convicted murderer in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. After originally being wanted by Brazilian authorities for hi ...

on August 31, 2023. After a 14-day Manhunt by the authorities, Danilo Cavalcante was apprehended under a pile of wood near

South Coventry Township, Pennsylvania South Coventry Township is a Township (Pennsylvania), township in Chester County, Pennsylvania, Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,604 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. History The township derives it ...

, on September 13, 2023.

History

The Chester County Prison was built in 1959 to replace the previous county jail, which was declared unsafe in 1951. The new prison was designed to support medium and maximum security prisoners, with separate housing for male and female inmates, as well as juveniles. In 1983, parts of the prison were renovated and expanded. In 1993, a new Work Release Center was constructed on prison property.

Incidents

On May 19, 2019, at approximately 11:30P.M. inmate Igor Bolte escaped Chester County prison. Igor Bolte was 3 months into his 23-month sentence for violating his probation when he scaled an exercise yard wall and climbed down to a less secure section. He was found over three hours later in Pocopson Township, and was charged with escape, a felony in the third degree. On August 31, 2023, at 8:51A.M. inmate

escaped, using the same method as Bolte. Cavalcante was to be transferred to a state prison to serve his life sentence for murder. Hundreds of law enforcement officers, including US Marshals, SWAT personnel, and personnel from local, state, and federal agencies, conducted a 14-day manhunt for Cavalcante which ended on September 13, 2023. During the night of September 11, 2023, Cavalcante stole a .22 caliber rifle, and two days later was captured in South Coventry Township, 23 miles away from the prison {{Cite web , date=2023-09-13 , title=What we know about Danelo Cavalcante's escape, manhunt and capture - CBS Philadelphia , url=https://www.cbsnews.com/philadelphia/news/danelo-cavalcante-update-prison-escape-chester-county-pa/ , access-date=2023-09-20 , website=www.cbsnews.com , language=en-US

References

Prisons in Pennsylvania Chester County, Pennsylvania 1959 establishments in Pennsylvania