Steve Mellon, Post-Gazette Lt. Jack Kearney, of the Allegheny County Sheriff's Office, roams the East End looking for fugitives. The office cleared 5,449 local and 883 miscellaneous warrants last year.

You're dozing on the couch when you hear a knock at the door.

At 10:55 p.m. it can't be good news. Again, knocking, only this time the surprise visitor is pounding heavily.

		Slideshow: Rounding up suspects Watch an audio slideshow of Lt. Jack Kearney leading a team of Allegheny County Sheriff's deputies, tracking down suspected wanted on criminal warrants. What do you think? Please send your comments on this series, for possible posting on a Readers Forum page, to postscript@post-gazette.com. Be sure to include your full name and hometown.

The neighbor's dog is barking. You ask who's there.

"Police. Open up," a voice says.

Turns out it's a deputy from the county sheriff's office. There's a warrant for your arrest.

You thought you'd straightened out this matter last week, but the team of deputies surrounding your house, the K-9 officer in the back yard and the sheriff's transport van blocking your driveway make you think otherwise.

Two bulky plainclothes deputies make themselves at home in your living room. One snaps leg irons on your ankles. The other cuffs you and leads you outside to the van where five other souls are waiting, handcuffed and shackled, for this unexpected shuttle to the county jail.

The guy next to you smells like he's loaded. A woman in front row complains to no one in particular that she didn't assault anyone.

"This is messed up. It's plain wrong," she shouts. A man in back who got picked up on a drug charge at 6 p.m. wakes up when you tumble in, nearly tripping on your leg irons. The back seat drug suspect resumes giving the driver tips, at full volume, on how to hang drywall.

The caravan of marked and unmarked cars makes three stops, looking for wanted persons, at houses in your neighborhood. You and your unhappy comrades sit in silence. No one answers the door at any of them.

The lieutenant who runs the fugitive squad began his shift with a stack of 25 or 30 warrants. Tonight, you're number six, the last case cleared. The caravan of drivers splits up.

The van enters the Parkway East. You watch the twinkling lights of the South Side through a metal grated window. Fellow passengers snore, cough and murmur. Your head aches from the stench of an unshowered seatmate.

The six of you have one thing in common, besides the misfortune of being home when they came for you. None of you want to be in this van and all of you are dreading getting out of it. The deputy pulls into an enclosed garage and entrusts you to the custody of the warden.

Experience what it's like to get arrested, go to jail, face charges, and, finally, get your day in court by viewing the multimedia components of this report.