Acting Chester County Prison warden who took over before Cavalcante escape to be the permanent replacement
WEST CHESTER — Howard Holland, the former police chief who took over leadership of the Chester County Prison the day before convicted murderer Danelo Cavalcante escaped from the facility in Pocopson, will soon be named the prison’s permanent warden, according to county sources.
Holland has been serving in an acting capacity since Aug. 30, replacing the former warden, Ronald M. Phillips, who resigned a month after being put on administrative leave for unspecified reasons. One day later, Cavalcante “crab-walked” up the walls of an outdoor recreation yard at the prison and fled the prison, where he was awaiting transfer to state prison to begin serving a life sentence for murder.
The former chief of Downingtown police then became one of the faces of the government’s response to the escape — appearing at press conferences to explain what happened that day and later at public question-and-answer sessions about plans to upgrade security there. Cavalcante was captured two weeks after his escape at the end of a massive police manhunt in the county.
Holland expressed interest in being appointed to the full-time position then, and put his name in the running as the county’s prison board began the process of finding a permanent successor to Phillips.
Chester County Prison Board Chairman Josh Maxwell, who also serves as chairman of the board of commissioners, announced Howard’s appointment on Wednesday and Thursday to staff at the prison. The decision, however, will not become official until later this month when the board meets in a public voting session.
“Howard has worked hard to improve staff morale, made significant investments in security, and provided personnel with critically important training,” Maxwell, who served as Downingtown mayor when Holland was chief there, said in an email Thursday. “I believe Chester County Prison is on track to be safer, better equipped, and a more modern prison in a few years. It’s going to take time. However, our entire board is committed to making the investments in the facility the public deserves.”
Maxwell said that Holland had been unanimously chosen by the board during its deliberations, in which three candidates for the position were identified and interviewed.
The process included input from an advisory panel of officials and county departments, he said.
“Two weeks ago, we held panels with 18 people, including a judge, district attorney, prison staff, county leadership, and departments, to interview applicants for warden,” Maxwell said in his message to a MediaNews Group reporter. “Afterward, those panelists were polled about their choice for warden. Soon after, the seven-person prison board was polled on their choice based on the panelists’ input. In both cases, the support was unanimous.”
The prison board is made up of all three county commissioners, as well as county Controller Margaret Reif, District Attorney Chris de Barrena-Sarobe, President Judge John Hall, and Sheriff Kevin Dykes.
“I met with all three shifts of prison staff to let them know of the board’s intention yesterday and today,” he said. “The official action will be taken on April 29th.”
Holland retired from his position as Downingtown police chief in April 2023 after 25 years with the department, six as chief, at the same time as he accepted a job as special liaison to the prison board, even though his resume — while listing decades of impressive credentials in public safety, emergency management, and law enforcement — shows no history in the field of corrections.
The post of special liaison was announced to employees at the prison at the time in conjunction with the work of two independent consultants to study conditions at the prison, which is suffering from a significant staff shortage among correctional officers.
The first such study was conducted by Greg Warren, of the American Law Enforcement Training and Consulting organization in Delaware. Warren told prison employees that he was looking for “any possible areas of concern for the personnel currently working” at the 700-plus inmate facility. His work was apparently completed in 2022 or 2023, but no report of his findings has been made public.
The decision by Maxwell to inform the prison staff of Holland’s impending appointment struck one prison board member as slightly premature, if well-intentioned.
“I was not made aware of plans to publicly or privately announce a hiring decision for a permanent prison warden,” said Commissioner Eric Roe, although he said an email had been sent about the meeting ahead of time that he did not immediately see. “As far as I’m concerned, any announcement on the topic would be premature until the board of prisons has voted to hire a permanent prison warden.”
The announcement also came after Maxwell posted on the social media site X, formerly known as Twitter, that an appointment was forthcoming, even after a county spokesperson had not commented on the timeline when asked by a reporter.
“After an extensive interview process that included 18 panelists, we’re prepared to make this appointment at our next meeting in two weeks,” Maxwell posted on Saturday in response to a post including a story about the continued vacancy.
After an extensive interview process that included 18 panelists, we’re prepared to make this appointment at our next meeting in two weeks. https://t.co/CIPDfGHjUw
— Josh Maxwell (@maxwelljosh) April 13, 2024
Roe acknowledged that Maxwell, a board chairman, “has been making efforts to improve communication and build relationships between the Prison Board and prison staff.
“While I might not agree with the timing, it’s probably best that prison staff learn important information directly from the chairman of the Prison Board,” Roe said in an email Thursday, “After all, any hiring decision pertaining to a permanent warden will affect them most of all.”
A county official who is familiar with the hiring process, but who asked to remain anonymous because they had not been authorized to speak about the subject, said they had no concerns with Maxwell’s announcement.
The official said that prison staff had been anxious about the time it was taking to fill the warden’s position and that Maxwell had been making efforts to improve communication with them. “People started to think that, ‘Hey, someone gives a crap.’”
“I don’t think it was egregious,” the official said, adding that they supported Holland’s appointment. “Any communication we can have with them is a good thing. The decision took a long time, which was frustrating.”
To contact staff writer Michael P. Rellahan call 610-696-1544.
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