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But someone knew their secret, and that person directed an army of Philadelphia police and federal agents late Wednesday to 5432 Windsor Ave.
Shortly before 11 p.m., police rammed the front door and set off a "flash-bang" device, startling the couple awake. In seconds, the house was swarming with law enforcement, and Floyd was forced to the floor, his face illuminated by a flashlight held by Homicide Capt. Daniel Castro.
"Eric Floyd, you are under arrest for the brutal homicide of one of our own, Sgt. Liczbinski," Castro recalled telling the career criminal.
The arrest ended a frenetic five-day manhunt for the third man wanted in the slaying of Sgt. Stephen Liczbinski, 39, who was killed Saturday in Port Richmond after he confronted three bank-robbery suspects.
Police said Floyd, 33, of North Philadelphia, had confessed to the robbery of the Bank of America branch inside a ShopRite on Aramingo Avenue, but denied shooting Liczbinski. Police said he had told them that he was surprised when his now-deceased accomplice shot the sergeant with a high-powered military rifle.
Nevertheless, Floyd was charged yesterday with murder, robbery and related offenses - the same charges lodged against the other surviving suspect, Levon T. Warner, 39, of West Philadelphia.
The third suspect, Howard Cain, 34, also of North Philadelphia, was killed Saturday by police trying to arrest him. At the time, Cain was holding the Chinese-made SKS carbine that police said had been used on Liczbinski.
Floyd was being held last night without bail.
Police said they still were searching for others who helped Floyd evade authorities.
More than $40,000 was taken during the heist, but the scheme - which included elaborate disguises and the use of a stolen Jeep to make a getaway - quickly unraveled after the three suspects left the bank about 11:30 a.m., according to authorities.
A few blocks away, police said, the men encountered Liczbinski, who was responding to a radio call. Police said he was shot with the SKS as he was exiting his vehicle, before he could fire his pistol.
In the aftermath, Cain was killed, Warner was apprehended, and Floyd was on the run. Also, police recovered all of the money, the robbers' discarded disguises, and three guns including the SKS. Most important, Warner allegedly confessed and implicated Floyd.
Poice gave this account of Floyd's efforts to avoid capture.
With the police in hot pursuit, Floyd, a convicted armed robber who escaped from a Berks County halfway house in February, called his girlfriend on his cell phone. He managed to get to her house in the city's Logan section.
They spent the night at a friend's house in North Philadelphia before moving on to another friend's house in South Philadelphia the next day.
An acquaintance suggested they hide out inside the rowhouse on Windsor Avenue, a home that the city had boarded up because of nonpayment of taxes.
Floyd remained hidden in the house, which has no running water or electricity, while Stephens shopped for food, Newport cigarettes and crack cocaine. Police said they still were investigating where the couple had obtained what little money they had on them.
Yesterday, Stephens, 37, was charged with obstruction of justice, hindering prosecution, and conspiracy. She was in custody last night awaiting arraignment.
Stephens, whose last known address was the 2100 block of Franklin Street, has a list of arrests in cases involving drug offenses, robbery and prostitution.
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