Detective canned amid Internal Affairs probe

Ronald Dove (left), a homicide detective with 16 years on the force, has been suspended as police investigate the possibility he covered up at least three murders - including one involving his girlfriend, Erica Sanchez (right).

WILLIAM BENDER & BARBARA LAKER, Daily News Staff Writers benderw@phillynews.com, 215-854-5255

Last updated: Friday, November 8, 2013, 9:56 PM

PHILADELPHIA POLICE Commissioner Charles Ramsey had heard enough about Ronald Dove.
Yesterday, Ramsey announced that Dove, a homicide detective with 16 years on the force, would be suspended with the intent to dismiss after police brass determined that he had not fully cooperated with a widening Internal Affairs probe.
Getting canned is probably the least of Dove's worries, even if he was making more than $160,000 a year, including overtime.
Cops are looking into whether Dove, 41, covered up at least three murders - including one involving his girlfriend - and a possible disappearance.

"There was enough to show that he was not totally forthcoming with information thus far and that was sufficient reason for me to take administrative action," Ramsey said of Dove, who hasn't showed up for work since he was placed on desk duty last month.
The Internal Affairs investigation revealed that "there was some information he had that he didn't pass along that he should have," the commissioner said.
Ramsey said he couldn't be more specific because Internal Affairs and the District Attorney's Office are working together to determine if criminal charges should be filed against Dove.
"The criminal investigation is ongoing. We're working hand in hand with the D.A.'s office," he said. "I can assure you there will be no stone unturned in this matter."
Investigators are digging into Dove's involvement in three cases:
* The Sept. 8 stabbing death of Cesar Vera, the ex-boyfriend of Erica Sanchez, Dove's longtime lover. Sanchez, 33, surrendered last month.
* The July 1, 2010, fatal shooting of Leslie Delzingaro at a bar in Olney that was owned by Sanchez's father. Dove was assigned to the case and Delzingaro's family filed a complaint with Internal Affairs, raising questions about a conflict of interest. The homicide remains unsolved.
* The May 2012 murder of Melanie Colon. She was last seen with a man named Reynaldo Torres, who has long since vanished. Investigators are exploring the possibility that Torres was murdered, too, and possibly buried in North Philly, according to a law-enforcement source.
Dove's case is particularly troubling, even for a department that has had more than its fair share of troubles lately.
On Wednesday, Lt. Marques Newsome, another 16-year veteran, was suspended with the intent to dismiss after he was charged with aggravated assault for allegedly attacking his girlfriend. Yesterday, a Common Pleas Court judge reversed dozens of narcotics convictions that were based on the testimony of former Officer Jeffrey Walker, who was busted in May in a federal corruption probe.
"We need to determine whether any criminal activity took place as part of or related to the [Erica] Sanchez case," Ramsey said, referring to Dove's girlfriend, "or other cases."
"We will go wherever our information takes us," he added. "It's not over."

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Saturday, November 9, 2013