WEST CHESTER — A Chester County man who unknowingly started the events that led to convicted murderer Danelo Cavalcante's escape from Chester County Prison and the extensive search that captured the county's attention for two weeks in late summer of 2023, admitted guilt on Thursday to charges that he fled the facility three months prior, providing the killer with a plan for getting out.
In front of Common Pleas Court Judge Patrick Carmody, Igor Bolte, dressed in a state prison orange jumpsuit, pleaded guilty to one count of escape in a quick and straightforward hearing at the Chester County Justice Center.
With short-cropped hair and a beard, Bolte responded with “yes” or “no” to the judge's questions about his choice to plead guilty and was given a state prison sentence of 18 to 60 months behind bars.
“You know what you’re doing?” the judge, who recalled knowing Bolte through his children, asked about his decision to skip a trial. “Yes, your honor,” he replied.
The sentence Bolte received was part of an agreement between the prosecutor assigned to the case, Assistant District Attorney Monica Szyszkiewicz, and Bolte’s attorney, Assistant Public Defender Jose Javier Secaira, and will start after he finishes the sentence for a resisting arrest charge involving two West Chester police officers in 2021.
He will also get credit for the time he's spent in prison since he was charged with escape in May 2023.
The cases of Bolte and Cavalcante are connected because Cavalcante replicated the technique Bolte used to scale the wall of a prison exercise yard — “crab walking” up a set of opposing walls by placing his hands on one wall and his feet on another, then climbing through holes in the overhang to reach the prison roof.
However, they differed not only in the lengths of time each man faced for their crimes — Bolte one to two years in prison, and Cavalcante a mandatory life sentence without parole — but also in how long each man remained at large. Bolte, 31, of West Chester was captured within 10 minutes of his escape across the prison roof and into the backyard of a nearby home and its swimming pool, while Cavalcante, 34, of Montgomery County was pursued for 14 days across several municipalities before being found in a wooded area 23 miles away in South Coventry on Sept. 13.
Bolte’s escape was spotted immediately by a correction officer as it happened when he ran across the rooftop in his prison uniform, and quickly alerted others. On the other hand, Cavalcante went unnoticed by a corrections officer assigned to watch the area, leading to more than an hour passing before his absence was noticed on Aug. 31.
He managed to avoid the police search for him by hiding in the dense woods and brush near Longwood Gardens, surviving on watermelon and creek water, and eventually stealing a dairy truck to escape to the northern part of the county. Despite being mentioned frequently in early September, his name did not come up again the following Thursday.
As per the statement made by Chester County Detective Keith Cowdright in the arrest affidavit, Bolte's escape happened at approximately 6:20 a.m. on May 19. Within 5 minutes, prison staff had recaptured Bolte.
During an interview, a corrections officer informed Cowdright that there were six inmates in one yard and two in the other. At one point, the inmates in one yard began arguing, diverting the officer's attention from the other two inmates. Upon turning back, the officer noticed an orange jumpsuit near a wall in the yard and then saw Bolte running across the prison roof toward a field close to the main entrance on Wawaset Road.
When Bolte, who had previously escaped from the prison in 2019 while serving time for assaulting a West Chester police officer, spoke with Cowdright, he did not deny the escape.
He explained that, being an experienced rock climber, he was able to scale the walls of the exercise yard by positioning his feet on one wall and his hands on the other, parallel to the ground. Once at the top, he pulled himself onto the roof and ran across it until he descended a wall near the visitor’s entrance, where security was less tight.
Cavalcante, who was convicted of killing his former girlfriend in April 2021, was found guilty of first-degree murder after a trial lasting a week in Common Pleas Court in August. Interestingly, Carmody, who presided over the trial, sentenced him to life in prison without parole, plus an additional 2 1/2 to five years. He is currently appealing his conviction.
Meanwhile, he is now facing charges for his escape, as well as burglary and theft charges related to his time on the run. He is currently being held in SCI Greene, awaiting trial before Judge Allison Bell Royer.
The entire proceeding for Bolte lasted less than 10 minutes, and he was taken back to the county prison where he has been detained since the previous month.
“Take care,” Carmody told him as sheriff deputies led him from the courtroom, his hands in chains and his feet in shackles. “Good luck to you.”
To get in touch with staff writer Michael P. Rellahan, call 610-696-1544.
