A man accused of fatally stabbing his girlfriend, a longtime women’s basketball coach, in her Raleigh, North Carolina, home was arrested following a confrontation with detectives in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. Rickey Harper, 60, is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Sheremy Gwenette Dillard, 57, who was found dead inside her home on Thursday, Aug. 13, according to the Raleigh Police Department. Raleigh police said officers were sent to Dillard’s home on Whistling Straits Way around 12:18 p.m. Aug. 13 after family members reported they had not heard from her. Her family told officers she lived at the home with Harper. Officers found Dillard dead inside the residence with injuries that appeared consistent with a stabbing, police said. Harper was not at the home when the investigation began. Detectives gathered evidence and used flock cameras to develop investigative leads that helped identify Harper as a suspect, according to Raleigh police. The case was presented to the Wake County District Attorney’s Office, which authorized a first-degree murder charge against Harper. The following day, on Friday, Aug. 14, Raleigh detectives contacted the Plymouth Township Police Department and provided information indicating Harper was in the area of a Courtyard Marriott hotel on Fountain Road in Plymouth Township. Police were told he might be driving a white Chevrolet Astro van with North Carolina registration. Detectives conducted surveillance in the area of the hotel and surrounding businesses and ultimately found Harper’s vehicle parked at the Plymouth Meeting Mall.  According to police, detectives saw Harper walking from the mall toward the van and confronted him in the parking lot to take him into custody. Harper immediately became confrontational and refused to surrender. Police said he even encouraged detectives to shoot him. After a brief standoff, the detectives took him into custody. Harper was arraigned and remanded to the Montgomery County Correctional Facility without bail, according to police. The Raleigh Police Department is still investigating the incident. Dillard was a longtime women’s basketball coach and former teacher at Carrboro High School who more recently worked in the Wake County school system, according to a statement from Carrboro High. The school described Dillard as leaving “a profound legacy of class, grace, wisdom and dedicated service” and said she was dedicated to her players, colleagues and students. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools (@chapelhillcarrboroschools) If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline by calling 1-800-799-SAFE (7233), visiting www.thehotline.org or texting LOVEIS to 22522. ...read more read less