Ex-Philadelphia homicide detective accused of hiding girlfriend after slaying

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- It started with a murder and a search for a suspect. And police say as the case moved forward, one of their own stopped them from solving the case.

On September 8, 2013 a man was stabbed to death in an after hours club in the 3300 block of North 5th Street.

Police started looking for the suspect killer, identified as Erica Sanchez.

Sanchez is a former lover of the dead man. But police say by then Sanchez had a new boyfriend - Ronald Dove, a Philadelphia Police homicide detective.

According to authorities, Sanchez called Dove.

Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams says Dove did not do his duty as an officer.

"Instead he jumped into action to do just the opposite, to bury evidence. He actively shielded her, hid her, financed her flight," Williams said.

The DA continued, saying, "Dove drove Sanchez from Philadelphia to Rochester, New York where he checked her into a Holiday Inn."

Having gotten the suspect away from police, Williams says Dove cleaned Sanchez's vehicle, a 2006 red Honda Element.

He allegedly took it to a garage owner and told him to store it out of sight.

"He said that Erica had murdered someone and that the police were actively looking for the car," Williams said.

It's alleged while hiding Sanchez, Dove told other detectives she killed in self-defense.

Dove's attorney, Bian McMonigle, believes Dove's heart overruled his head.

McMonagle tells us, "I can tell you that Ron never thought that he was trying to helping a criminal. He was trying to protect a person who had been the victim of domestic violence and who acted in self-defense."

The DA says that at one point Dove rejoined Sanchez in New York, and the two took a little vacation, going to Niagara Falls to take in the sites.

Dove appears to be facing a continuing investigation into other matters.

Questions remain about what he may have known about missing person Reynaldo Torres, and Torres' friend Melanie Colon, who was shot six times before her body was dumped behind a Junita Park apartment building.

For now Dove only faces charges in the Sanchez matter.