DELLWOOD • The officer on the phone seemed to have good news for Felicia Vanderford.

He told her his department, the Dellwood police, was close to making an arrest in the death of her son Dorcy Davis.

"They described to me who did it and came up with a name," Vanderford said.

Early on, investigators had been in touch with her often as they developed leads in the April 2010 slaying. Then the calls stopped.

"They haven't contacted me in two years," Vanderford said recently. "And the one who killed my son is still out there."

St. Louis County police officials have pointed out what they call a disturbing pattern in Dellwood's Police Department: Investigators would generate leads and even make arrests in cases, some involving major crimes, but charges would never materialize.

An audit by the county police, who late last year began overseeing Dellwood's Police Department, found 121 cases from 2009 to 2011 — including burglaries, rapes and drug charges — where someone had been implicated in a crime in the city, but the casework inexplicably stopped.

It's possible only the few people who have called the Police Department about the status of their cases are aware of any slow movement. Depending on the nature and type of case, police officials said, people move on after hearing of an arrest or learning whether anything taken from them will be returned.

Dorcy Davis' case was the only murder in Dellwood in the last three years. Though no one has been arrested in the case, it wasn't among those cited in the county audit. St. Louis County police Lt. Norman Mann, who is currently overseeing the Dellwood Police Department, said the case was not included in the audit because it remains an open investigation in which no arrests have been made.

The same can be said for several of the cases listed in the audit.

City officials who want to turn policing duties over to the county cite the audit to support their position.

"I expected there would be findings, but what I did not expect was systemic failure in the Police Department," said Mayor Loretta Johnson, who began talks with St. Louis County about taking over Dellwood's policing. "This is very important. It has to do with the safety and well-being of our community."

But a vote on the department's dissolution has been held up since early December by four aldermen who refuse to attend meetings until the agenda item goes away. They think any issues in the department can be handled in-house.

James Lovings, one of the four boycotting aldermen and the group's de facto spokesman, said the onus was on the prosecuting attorney's office for the way it handled similar cases in the past. Officers have told him charges were not being applied for in many cases because of previous denials.

The prosecuting attorney's office, Lovings said, "is responsible for correcting the way they deny and handle these cases."

A call and an email seeking comment from St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Bob McCulloch about Dellwood's delinquent cases were not returned.

Former Police Chief Dan Chapman, a 43-year veteran of the department who retired in February 2011, said procedure under his watch was for the detectives to handle the warrant application process. Part of the lag in completing a case, he said, was that it could sometimes take months for the prosecuting attorney's office to respond to requests.

"And in that time, you have to release that (suspect)," he said.

But, St. Louis County officials argue, warrants were never sought in the 121 outstanding cases. Most of those in question were investigated while Chapman was in charge.

"If there was no follow-up," he said, "I'm not sure what happened there."

Police Chief Fred Haunold, who ran the department from April to November 2011, could not be reached for comment.

Another of the pending cases involves Dellwood Auto Tire, where police are investigating three incidents of employee theft in 2010 and 2011 in which more than $6,500 in cash and auto parts were taken.

"We presented a case that had plenty of information to make an arrest for the case to move forward," said Michelle Cohen, an auditor working with the tire business.

While Cohen said she is confident an arrest will be made, so far none has been. Police would not comment on the status of the case, citing a now active investigation.

In the slaying of Dorcy Davis, Vanderford said a Dellwood investigator had called often and shared what had been pieced together through interviews and witness accounts in the death of her son.

The investigator had relayed details on how Davis had been gunned down at his home on Trask Street when he answered a knock at his door. The investigator also shared a description of the shooter.

"I thought by the evidence they had, they would pick (the suspect) up pretty quick," Vanderford said.

The next contact she had with Dellwood police officials was when she called weeks after the shooting to see if an arrest had been made.

No, she was told.

"Now, they were telling me they didn't have enough evidence," she said. "I don't understand that."

The investigation of Davis' slaying is now being handled by the St. Louis County Police Department's Crimes Against Persons unit. Mann, the lieutenant overseeing Dellwood's policing, said notes in the case file made him think an arrest was still possible.

But, he said, "The fact that it's been since 2010 makes it a little harder to pick up the ball and run."

Dellwood and county police officials say warrant applications on many of the delinquent cases have been sent to the prosecuting attorney's office. Investigations of other cases have been farmed out to various St. Louis County police divisions to cut the load of the Dellwood department, now at four officers.

Johnson, the mayor, said it's imperative that the cases get cleared up and prosecuted.

"The victims of these crimes have been let down," she said. "Justice has not been served."