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What's the holdup on cop grand jury cases?

Little has been said for the last year about separate investigations into two police commanders and an ex-detective.

Police are probing whether Homicide Det. Ron Dove, who has allegedly been in a relationship with Erica Sanchez, pictured here, aided Sanchez in covering up the murder of her ex-boyfriend in September. Sanchez has been charged in the murder.
Police are probing whether Homicide Det. Ron Dove, who has allegedly been in a relationship with Erica Sanchez, pictured here, aided Sanchez in covering up the murder of her ex-boyfriend in September. Sanchez has been charged in the murder.Read more

THE RUMORS started making the rounds among law-enforcement types a few weeks ago.

A big announcement was imminent, or so the whispers went, about a long-running local grand jury investigation into two Philadelphia police commanders: Inspector Aaron Horne and Capt. John McCloskey.

Horne and McCloskey were suspended for 30 days without pay in August 2012 for allegedly trying to erase all traces of a violent encounter that unfolded in Oak Lane between a pair of patrol officers and the grandson of a retired Philly cop.

The Daily News first reported in January that the two commanders were the subject of a grand jury probe, so the idea that a conclusion finally had been reached made some sense.

But the rumors led to . . . well, nothing.

The status of the investigation into Horne and McCloskey - as well as a separate grand-jury investigation into the bizarre life and times of an ex-Homicide Unit detective named Ronald Dove - is anybody's guess.

Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey has acknowledged in previous interviews that some of his Internal Affairs investigators have been sworn into the separate grand juries.

But he noted that he was waiting, just like everyone else, to learn the results of those probes.

"Unfortunately, the rules of the grand jury preclude me from making public comments now or sharing any information with anyone not sworn into the grand jury," District Attorney Seth Williams said in an email on Wednesday.

"If and when there is any information for me to share publicly you will be notified timely."

Horne is assigned to the Forensic Sciences Bureau at 8th and Poplar streets, while McCloskey works in Northeast Philly's busy 15th District.

Both were punished by Ramsey for the actions they allegedly took on March 18, 2012.

Officers Shane Darden and Tim Taylor stopped Rodney Handy that night in his car in Oak Lane while responding to a report of gunfire in the area, the Daily News previously reported.

Handy, who was 22 years old at the time, refused to get out of his car and ended up scuffling with the cops. One of the officers was injured, and Handy had to be subdued with a stun gun.

Instead of spending the night in the slammer and facing criminal charges, Handy had his retired cop grandfather reach out to Horne - and ask for a favor.

Police sources previously told the Daily News that Horne instructed McCloskey to halt the arrest and destroy any paperwork or other internal records related to the incident.

"At some point, they're going to have to tell us what transpired. These are public employees," said Kelvyn Anderson, the executive director of the civilian-run Police Advisory Commission.

A law-enforcement source said chatter surrounding the grand -jury investigation seemed to reach a fever pitch over the summer, with many in the Police Department believing that the findings were going to be made public. But that wave of speculation came and went.

In terms of potential fallout - and sheer shock value - Horne and McCloskey's case pales in comparison to the grand-jury investigation into Dove, the former homicide detective.

The 16-year veteran of the force was fired by Ramsey last November for failing to cooperate with detectives who were investigating his involvement in three homicide cases:

* The Sept. 8, 2013, stabbing death of Cesar Vera, the ex-boyfriend of Erica Sanchez, Dove's longtime lover. Sanchez, 33, was later jailed on murder charges and is scheduled to appear for a preliminary hearing at the Criminal Justice Center this month.

*  The July 1, 2010, fatal shooting of Leslie Delzingaro at an Olney bar that was owned by Sanchez's father. Dove was assigned to the case - which has never been solved - and Delzingaro's family has since filed a complaint with Internal Affairs raising questions about a conflict of interest.

* The May 2012 slaying of Melanie Colon. She was last seen with Reynaldo Torres, who has since vanished. Based on information on Dove's iPad, investigators are exploring the possibility that Torres was killed, too, and possibly buried - and covered in cement - in the area where a jawbone was found, behind a ball field at 4th and Westmoreland streets, last fall.

"When a decision is made, there should be some transparency, in particular with something as complicated as the case with the inspector and the case with the [former] detective," Anderson said.

"I'm a little hesitant to be too critical, because each prosecutor approaches a grand jury in different ways," he said.

"But the bottom line is that if we have police officers and other public officials who are accused of things, and we know there's a probe of some sort going on, the results should be reported."