Agents of the Colorado Bureau of Investigation wore the leather off their shoes Thursday trying to capture unregistered sex offenders throughout the metro area.
The sweep, dubbed “Operation J-Bird” was held in honor of Limon police officer Jay Sheridan, who was gunned down last year while trying to arrest a sex offender.
“J-Bird” is what Sheridan’s fellow officers liked to call him.
The day began with 831 sex offenders with warrants out for their arrest and ended with three in custody.
While the numbers captured were small, a great deal of preparation goes into finding each offender who is trying their best to evade detection.
The search for one sex offender can span several hours while agents go from address to address in cities on opposite sides of the metro area. They rely on tips from neighbors, family members and employers to help them.
CBI agents Jerry Means and Christian Mohr got no answer at many front doors and lots of shrugs from bosses and landlords. But it is worth it to Means, who says he has interviewed young children living next door to offenders who he believes would be in danger if offenders were not captured.
“We would do this for free,” Means said. “Even on our days off.”
Around 9 a.m., Means and Mohr knocked on the apartment door of 28-year-old Shawn Michael Elliott, who was surprised to see them.
Elliott was living with his fiancée at the Nob Hill Condominiums in the 2900 block of West Floyd Avenue in Denver.
A warrant was issued for his arrest after he failed to register.
Elliott’s pit bulls were inside the apartment. Means, who has a soft spot for dogs because he has the CBI’s arson dog Sadie, wanted to make sure Elliott’s dogs had water before they left them there alone.
Two other sex offenders, DeAngelo Herrera, 19, and Adrian Brown, 30, were also arrested during the sweep.
Original charges for Elliott and Herrera were for sexually assaulting a child with a pattern of abuse. Brown’s charge was sexual assault on a child.
The CBI says there are 14,831 sex offenders in Colorado, a 0.04 percent increase from last year. Nationwide, there are nearly 750,000 convicted sex offenders.
Another incentive for the agents Thursday was to honor Sheridan’s memory.
At their predawn briefing, they became emotional remembering his sacrifice and called his widow to let her know what they were doing in her husband’s name.
“Go out and speak for the victims,” said Steve Johnson, the CBI’s assistant director of investigations. “Get the offenders back in compliance. It is important to keep them from revictimizing people.”
Anyone with information about the whereabouts of sex offenders may call a special hotline at 303-239-5732.
Felisa Cardona: 303-954-1219 or fcardona@denverpost.com
