Knock, knock.
“Denver sheriff. Open up. We’re looking for Francisco,” said Deputy Stan Marin, holding a warrant for Francisco Vasquez, 30, wanted in two drug cases.
After first peeking through blinds, a man opened the door and allowed three sheriff’s officials inside. A television blared in the dimly lit home.
As Marin and Deputy Ken Juranek headed toward the back of the house, Sgt. Darryle Brown opened a door and found someone hiding on a bed under the covers.
“Who are you? What’s your name? What’s your name?” Brown demanded.
“Francisco,” came the reply.
Marin and Juranek spend their days searching for a never-ending stream of fugitives, many of whom have ignored a judge’s orders, failed to appear in court or disregarded the provisions of their probation.
They hit the streets to look for a motley crew of fugitives convicted of or facing charges on various assault, theft and drug offenses. In one day, they hit about a dozen addresses in the city. Few fugitives were home.
“They’ll make their 70-year- old grandmothers lie for them,” Marin said.
Marin, hired in 1981, and Juranek, a deputy since 1988, are the Fugitive/Warrants Unit of the Denver Sheriff’s Department.
Just the two of them.
They cover each other out on the streets – one in the front of the house, one in the back.
Sometimes the dangers are unexpected. Juranek has a nasty dog bite on his leg to prove it.
They often come up empty – fugitives are fugitives for a reason, after all. But they still managed to make 150 arrests in 2004. So far this year, they have made 46. Vasquez made No. 47.
“At least we’ve got job security,” Marin quipped.
Still, the hundreds of warrants issued each year pile up faster than fugitives are arrested. There’s no money in the budget to expand the unit.
“We could use six guys in here,” said Brown, who came along for cover. “Even then, it would be tough to keep up.
“Sometimes justice isn’t served because of the budget and manpower, and the criminals benefit,” Brown said.
Vasquez didn’t offer much resistance. Like most of those Marin and Juranek arrest, he didn’t seem particularly surprised when they showed up.
He asked for a drink of water before being led off to jail. The deputies let his brother bring him one. One deputy got Vas quez his shoes before hauling him out to a waiting car.
Last year, no suspects were hurt, and no one filed a complaint against the deputies. They draw their Tasers far more than they draw their guns. They like it that way.
“You treat a man with respect, you’ll get respect. If you treat people rotten, you’ll get rotten right back,” Marin explained.
As the deputies drove off, headed toward jail, Juranek looked at his watch and smiled.
“We’ll still have time to go back out today,” he said.
Staff writer Sean Kelly can be reached at 303-820-1858 or skelly@denverpost.com.
