Sheriff's deputies tackle tough job of evicting homeowners

When foreclosure forced them from their home, the residents of 7546 Duck Hawk Place left little behind.

Some wine glasses, a martini shaker and a stack of old newspapers, one dated Feb. 29 reading, "Bush, Bernanke stay hopeful; Both see turmoil, neither forecasts a recession."

With hundreds of homes foreclosed on daily, it is in homes like this one in a three-year-old subdivision in Fountain where Sheriff's Deputy Tammy Gugliotta spends most mornings, facilitating as bank-hired crews bust locks, break down doors and place all of the homeowners' belongings on the front lawn, sometimes with children watching.

In the past year, the El Paso County Sheriff's Office, which is required by the state to oversee evictions, has spent 300 percent more time on evictions than it did in the previous year.

With six deputies each serving one district in the county and processing two to 10 evictions every morning, it now takes about three weeks from the time a writ of assistance is issued to the time homeowners are forced out. Banks are increasingly frustrated with the delay, Gugliotta said.

It is a laborious, sometimes dangerous, and often heart-wrenching task.

It took nearly 45 minutes for the bank-hired cleaning crew to dismantle the dead bolt last week and open the door on Duck Hawk Place.

When they got in, Gugliotta and her boss, Chief Joe Breister, searched the empty house, guns drawn. Deputies are usually alone during evictions; Breister just happened to be tagging along last week.

Unlike in 25 percent of the homes Gugliotta enters, the residents on Duck Hawk Place had moved out before eviction day.

"In foreclosures, people are homesteading because it is their house and they're not leaving," she said.

Such cases can lead to belligerent homeowners too much for a single deputy to control; Colorado Springs police are often called for backup.

A few months ago, Gugliotta entered an upscale home in Falcon where it was apparent that breakfast had just been served, kids ushered off to school. It was as if, Gugliotta said, the family didn't know it was eviction day, despite the notice placed on their door weeks before.

It took a crew of 15 people four hours to remove the extravagant furniture and electronics from the house.

That night, the homeowner, who works at Schriever Air Force Base and has a master's degree in business finance, came home to find his belongings on the lawn. Furious, he reportedly broke into the house and destroyed the place, allegedly pouring cement down the drains. Criminal charges were filed by the Sheriff's Office, Gugliotta said.

"It is mentally altering them," she said. "This guy probably never would have done something like that if his house hadn't been foreclosed on."

But the number of homeowners that deputies encounter is falling as banks up their incentive to get keys before eviction day.

Six months ago, banks offered around $750 for homeowners to vacate early. Today, it is around $2,000, enough for people to get a new place to stay and far less than it costs banks to hire cleaning crews.

For those who don't vacate, losing their home can mean losing other valuable possessions.

Once crews place belongings outside, deputies do not stay on guard, meaning neighbors can carry off plasma televisions and furniture.

"Basically our rule of thumb is, if it can be sold at a flea market for a dollar, it is coming out," Gugliotta said.

With winter coming, Gugliotta knows there will be times when she'll place children in her running patrol car while parents scramble to pack important belongings and find somewhere for their family to stay.

"Some people are really hurting, there is no way around it," Gugliotta said. "It is devastating to families. And a lot of them are now left homeless."