Bounty Hunter 'Dog' Arrested in Hawaii

[DES630 10]

Bounty Hunter 'Dog' Arrested in Hawaii

The bounty hunter from Hawaii with the nickname "Dog" was arrested Thursday.

According to reports Duane "Dog" Chapman and his two sons were under arrest in connection with the Andrew Luster case back in 2003.

Max Factor heir Andrew Luster was in Mexico and Chapman and his sons brought him back to the United States to face rape charges.

MSNBC reports that Chapman was arrested in Hawaii on orders from the Mexican government. Authorities said bounty hunting is illegal in Mexico.

Chapman is the star of an A&E bounty hunting show.

Luster was convicted of rape and is serving a 124-year jail sentence.

[DES630 10]

‘Dog’ Chapman arrested over 2003 Mexico case

Advertiser Staff and News Services

TV reality star Duane "Dog" Chapman and two co-stars on his show were arrested early today in Hawaii on charges of illegal detention and conspiracy in an alleged kidnapping three years ago in Mexico, according to the U.S. Marshals office in Hawai'i.

Chapman, his son Leland Chapman and associate Timothy Chapman were taken into custody by U.S. Marshals this morning, said marshals spokeswoman Nikki Credic in Washington.

Two teams of U.S. marshals arrested the Chapmans at two homes in Hawai'i Kai and Waialae. Leland Chapman was arrested at 7:10 a.m. at his Wilhelmina Rise home. The Dog and Timothy Chapman were arrested at 6:20 a.m. without incident, according to the marshal's service.

Mona K. Wood, a publicist for the star of the popular A&E series "Dog the Bounty Hunter," said Chapman would be "vindicated."

"He arrests the bad guys — and he is definitely not one of them," she said.

The charges stem from Chapman's capture of Max Factor heir Andrew Luster on June 18, 2003, in Puerto Villarta, Mexico.

Chapman's capture of Luster — an alleged serial rapist — catapulted the bounty hunter to fame and led to the reality series on the A&E channel.

The three are being held in custody in Honolulu, and bail has not been set. They will face an extradition hearing under terms of treaties between the United States and Mexico, Credic said.

Charges have been pending against the three since local police in Mexico arrested them shortly after they captured Luster. They posted bail but never returned to Puerto Villarta for their court hearing on July 15, 2003.

A U.S. warrant for their arrest was signed by a federal judge in Honolulu on Sept. 13, 2006.

[res6cue 67]

That's just wrong. Mexico is such a screwed up country. Considering their police forces are among the most corrupt in the world, it's a joke that bounty hunting a suspected serial rapist who fled this country is considered a crime. The Mexican authorities should be more worried about closing their damn border than stopping a couple of Americans from nabbing a scumbag. It's a shame the judge signed that warrant, but I'm sure he didn't have much choice, nor did the Marshals in arresting them.

Edited September 14, 2006 by res6cue

[IzzyEng4 427]

That's just wrong. Mexico is such a screwed up country. Considering their police forces are among the most corrupt in the world, it's a joke that bounty hunting a suspected serial rapist who fled this country is considered a crime. The Mexican authorities should be more worried about closing their damn border than stopping a couple of Americans from nabbing a scumbag. It's a shame the judge signed that warrant, but I'm sure he didn't have much choice, nor did the Marshals in arresting them.

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DITTO

[ems731 0]

Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against bringing a serial rapist to justice but 'Dog' still has to follow the law. His mind was in the right place but his tactics were wrong. He coulda damaged the case by breaking the law like that. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy 'Dog' caught the guy, and I'm a little upset that Mexico issued a warrant for him but you have to remember he did break the law.

[Guest WolfEMT]

Plain and simple, "Dog" is an ex-con wanna-be cop who tarnishes the reputations and livelihoods of so many of us on this board. Secondly, as screwed up as the country may be, he went there and broke their laws; thusly, he should be held accountable.

[TheBuff376 8]

I agree if someone breaks the law they should be held accountable. However in this case Mexico should screw themselves. Speaking from experience, many who have committed crimes in the U.S. have fled to Mexico and we were told there is nothing that can be done until they return (which they do not) to the U.S. I say let him go and have Mexico arrest him if/when he returns their...

[JustSomeGuy 0]

From my previous education, a lot of political science courses, very few countries will let a criminal stay. Mexico would not esp with NAFTA, would most likely hand the guy over eventually. The US has its hands in everything and countries rely upon foreign aid, they are not going to risk this over a criminal. I believe Sri lanka is one of the few who will not hand them over, and probably France now adays.

[JohnnyOV 2]

  I believe Sri lanka is one of the few who will not hand them over,

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ill keep this in mind

[AFS1970 504]

So lets see a Bounty Hunter who makes a living going after bail jumpers jumped bail? One more reason why that Dog should be sent to the pound. Most states do not allow CONVICTED FELONS to become bounty hunters, I believe that is why his business operates from where it does, because there are still a few states that don't license or do background checks on bounty hunters. I have never been a fan of Dog or his show, but perhaps now this scum will be off the streets and be barred from tarnishing the reputations of the hard working bail enforcement agents who actually want to bring professionalism to their profession (hmmm, sound like any other group that is well represented here on EMTBravo ?).

[Guest WolfEMT]

So lets see a Bounty Hunter who makes a living going after bail jumpers jumped bail? One more reason why that Dog should be sent to the pound. Most states do not allow CONVICTED FELONS to become bounty hunters, I believe that is why his business operates from where it does, because there are still a few states that don't license or do background checks on bounty hunters. I have never been a fan of Dog or his show, but perhaps now this scum will be off the streets and be barred from tarnishing the reputations of the hard working bail enforcement agents who actually want to bring professionalism to their profession (hmmm, sound like any other group that is well represented here on EMTBravo ?).

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I whole-heartedly agree. First of all, if he's a convicted felon and he's carrying a firearm for the purposes of "protecting himself" (if that is the case, I'm not totally sure since I don't waste my time by watching his show), then he is guilty of violating federal firearms law. Secondly, what's the deal with the guy on his show with the US Marshal badge? I caught about 2 minutes of an episode one night when I was down at the fire house and I thought I saw one of his hoodlums with what appeared to be a Marshal badge.

[210 91]

I believe Sri lanka is one of the few who will not hand them over,

ill keep this in mind

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Too funny

Edited September 15, 2006 by 210

[Guest]

He was arrested for not showing up for his hearing. He arrest people for not showing up at there court cases. He is just as guilty as the people he arrests. He has known about this since 2003 and must have had some notification from mexico for his appearence. Personaly i don't like the show. But one thing i don't understand how is he able to just bust into houses without a warrant when police officers have to get a warrant to go into your house, i never understood that part of the show. Is there different laws for bounty hunters than the law for law enforcement.

[X615 0]

ok, we can't round up & return the thousands of mexicans that continually sneak across the border yearly but we easily found the time to round these 3 relatively harmless characters up that albeit don't have a professional appearance & come across as WWE wrestlers but at least contribute to their community and get some fairly dangerous scumbags off the streets AND we took them into custody because they "kidnapped" a U.S. citizen who's accused of being a serial rapist. sounds like the wrong guys are locked up. how about mexico worries about keeping their own people within their borders, stop sending all that pot into this country and in exchange chapman won't bounty hunt there anymore. awfully hypocritical for a country without a single honest cop or politician. they know what they can do with their sombreros and donkeys.

[Guest]

Since when did we start listening to MEXICO...??? Bottom line, the skell that they

picked up is getting what he deserves. We'd probably still be looking for him or seeing him on AMW...

[ny10570 745]

I believe Sri lanka is one of the few who will not hand them over, and probably France now adays.

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Funny you should menton that. If you're up against the death penalty, not only will France not deport you until you are guarenteed no death penalty, but they'll even grant you assylum and eventually citizenship. Viva la ribbit

[JBE 328]

Kinda messed up that Dog got locked up for the same thing he picks people up for. If I remember correctly, he doesn't carry a firearm, he carries a big @$$ can of mace. I think for all the negatives, he's done a lot of good things with his fame and fortune. There's always going to be someone who gives a profession "a bad name". Hopefully he can get this worked out.

[dadbo46 50]

He was arrested for not showing up for his hearing. He arrest people for not showing up at there court cases. He is just as guilty as the people he arrests. He has known about this since 2003 and must have had some notification from mexico for his appearence. Personaly i don't like the show. But one thing i don't understand how is he able to just bust into houses without a warrant when police officers have to get a warrant to go into your house, i never understood that part of the show. Is there different laws for bounty hunters than the law for law enforcement.

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Yes....there are different laws and rules for bounty hunters then what there is for the police. And believe it or not, in most states, bounty hunters have MORE power than the police.

Here is an excerpt from the NYS Criminal Procedure Law (CPL) as at pertains to bounty hunting:

2. For the purpose of surrendering the defendant, an obligor or the person who posted cash bail for the defendant may take him into custody at any place within the state, or he may, by a written authority indorsed on a certified copy of the bail bond, empower any person over twenty years of age to do so.

[Guest alsfirefighter]

I have to say that I think he does just fine and the guy is making a legit living. He doesn't carry firearms, in fact he is anti firearm and only carries mace. The guy turned his life around and yes he is a convicted felon, however, he paid his debt to soceity and now lives a productive life doing something that local PD's do not have the resources to handle. He also has a branch in Denver and has also I believe apprehended individuals in Texas.

I'm sure he knew about his court date, I'm sure he was working on it in other legal means and probably the often useless State Department in the matter. This is politics at its best, the US will hand him over to smooth over other extridiction cases from Mexico to the US. They often will not hand over a criminal until the US gives its word no capital punishment.

As far as saying he's no better then the criminals he goes after that skip bail. I disagree. This isn't the US criminal justice system here gang and he isn't a junkie, drug dealer, rapist, or any other criminal offense that he offers bail to. Which is a way for some to get their $hit together before they go to jail. He got a US citizen that jumped the system and did what US authorities could not. He gave justice to a US citizen and her family by getting his a$$ back here. He doesn't arrest people because they skip court, he takes them into custody because an arrest warrant has been issued for failure to appear and the money in which his company loans the person or family will be revoked and he loses his money also.

Funny someone should bring a badge up. The badge says Bail Agent and is just the style. Any different then EMS providers that wear detective style badges?

[tjd1012 5]

so its ok to kidnap someone from another country?

[dc2t 80]

The creep he found was sentenced to 120 plus years. Was it any different that the nazi hunters after WW2. As far as I am concerned he deserves to be let go

[DES630 10]

Funny someone should bring a badge up.  The badge says Bail Agent and is just the style.  Any different then EMS providers that wear detective style badges?

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I was waiting for someone to bring that up...LOL

Weather you like the guy or not, Disagree with what he does or not, How can they send him back to Mexico cause they asked for it. Why is justice system persuing this so quickly I am sure they know he went there in 2003 and arrested this guy. The justice system didn't have a problem with it then, now all of a sudden cause mecico wants him back they take action. HMMMM

[AFS1970 504]

When I was little my mother used to tell me that two wrongs don't make a right. I am surprised to see so many people defending Dog, he broke the laws of the country he was in at the time. Should we not enforce American laws on Mexicans if what they did would have been legal back in Mexico? The reason that US authorities couldn't get the person is the same reason that Dog should not have done what he did, Mexico forbids it.

Now I do think that Kidnapping is a strong word to use in this particular situation. This was a known criminal who was eventually convicted. But what if his case was thrown out due to some technicality involving the way he was captured? Would we be calling Dog a great guy in that case? There are alot of hard working Bounty Hunters out there who work to make sure that alot of scumbags stay off the streets, but remember that the motivation is always financial. Dog is just famous because of his WWE like looks and tactics got him a TV show. This case wouldn't even have made the news if he wasn't already famous.

[DES630 10]

'Dog' Chapman's bail set at $300,000

By Ken Kobayashi

Advertiser Staff Writer

Duane "Dog" Chapman, star of the television reality show "Dog the Bounty Hunter," was ordered released on bail this afternoon while awaiting extradition proceedings sending him to Mexico to face illegal detention charges.

U. S. Magistrate Judge Barry Kurren ruled that Chapman can be released on $300,000 bail. Kurren ordered him to remain at home unless he has to leave his house for his business.

Chapman's son Leland and Tim Chapman (no relation), can be freed on $100,000 bail each, Kurren said.

Chapman and the other two were arrested by by U. S. Marshals yesterday morning on a federal extradition warrant signed by a federal judge. They were being held at the Federal Detention Center near Honolulu International Airport.

[DMA327 12]

I'm gonna lay it out plain and simple for ya'll...

Dog the Bounty Hunter = White Trash!

[Guest alsfirefighter]

The case is what made him famous. I never heard of this guy until he apprehended that scumbag in Mexico and they arrested him shortly after. Call him what you want...but the guy is highly respected in his field and Hawaii and he gets trash off the streets. He found a highly ellusive criminal in a foreign country and delivered him to justice. No one else was able to do that.

I know what he can do. Just go to Mexico, check in with the court. Drive up to the border, sneak into the country over the border and then the US Government will do nothing to ensure he is a citizen and not even care where he is, documented or not.

The only thing that is funny is, we could probably drive around our communities and find people from Mexico and Central American countries who are here illegally and are criminals in their home countries and we do nothing to send them back.

[Skooter92 7]

Yeah, but:

White Trash + Lucrative TV Contract=Rich White Trash!

[Guest alsfirefighter]

Then again...like it has been said before:

Don't hate the player hate the game. Good for him. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

[X615 0]

al, if he's successful sneaking across the border he's going to give himself away standing out in the crowd the first morning he's competing with the 75 other illegals trying to get work as day laborers but it would be amusing to see him in a long sleeve flannel shirt buttoned to the neck & a john deere cap planting flowers or pushing a lawnmower but then again he speaks english and has a drivers license so he could make foreman by coffee break, lunch at the latest.

[Guest]

NYTimes runs essay on Dog!!

September 18, 2006

A Cornered Pit Bull: Bounty Hunter Becomes Prey

By DAVID CARR

THE NEW YORK TIMES

The eight or so men crept quietly up to the house in the Portlock neighborhood of Hawaii at the crack of dawn. The woman inside was making school lunches for her children and noticed them too late. They bum-rushed the bedroom, capturing their target in cuffs before he knew what hit him.

Duane Chapman, known as Dog, the premier American bounty hunter, would have appreciated their artistry had he not been the guy in handcuffs.

Mr. Chapman, the star of A&E’s highly rated “Dog the Bounty Hunter,†was transported to the federal detention center in Honolulu to await extradition to Mexico on a three-year-old charge stemming from his capture in Mexico of Andrew Luster, the Max Factor heir who was eventually convicted of raping three women.

Back in 2003 Mr. Chapman and his colleagues were charged by Mexican authorities with “deprivation of liberty†and held in jail in Puerto Vallarta before they made bail and slipped out of the country.

Now, with less than a month before the warrant would have expired and in the midst of filming the fourth season of his enormously successful reality series, Mr. Chapman was the one being brought to justice. (Yesterday the Chapman family suggested that some horse trading was under way, pointing out that Francisco Rafael Arellano Félix, part of a Mexican drug cartel, was handed over to United States authorities.)

As American symbols go, Mr. Chapman is a pretty epic one.

He has had 4 wives, 12 children, 18 robbery convictions, a conviction for being an accessory to murder, and, according to his math, more than 7,000 fugitives brought to justice. He belonged to a biker gang, but cries easily and enjoys vacuuming. His show, filmed mostly in Hawaii, is a mix of tweaking meth-heads and postarrest moralism, a business built on repossessing human flesh. But with Mr. Chapman, the drama always seems to continue after the cameras shut off. On the day he was to be married this spring in a filmed ceremony, his estranged daughter died. And now this.

“He leads a complicated, edgy life,†said Lucas Platt, the supervising producer of the show. “Going after Andrew Luster was a risky decision, but he thought it was the right thing to do. Now it has taken an unfortunate turn.â€

The turn won’t hurt ratings. A&E plans a special for tomorrow night, and the stories about his travails will only add to the legend. The man who brought vengeance to thousands of bail jumpers found himself on the wrong end of justice.

“I was totally freaked out,†Mr. Chapman said on the phone Saturday after he had posted a $300,000 bail to await a hearing on extradition. “There were guys that I had put in there that were yelling all sorts of things at me.â€

His wife Beth, a co-star in the series, worked frantically for his release.

The 2003 Luster arrest, which catapulted Mr. Chapman to a new level of celebrity and eventually resulted in A&E signing him for the series, led to a lasting grudge on the part of Mexican authorities, who demanded that the United States extradite the bounty hunter.

On Thursday night the Mexican attorney general released a statement suggesting that what Mr. Chapman had done was an affront to national sovereignty.

Larry Butrick, chief of the criminal division for the United States Attorney’s Office in Honolulu, said that his staff was merely executing a valid warrant that came from headquarters in Washington.

“The court here really will just be looking at the legality of the extradition and if there is a fit under the treaty we have with Mexico,†he said.

One of Mr. Chapman’s lawyers is hoping that the matter can be settled somewhere short of a Mexican prison.

“I have a high level of confidence that we will be able work with the good will and good faith of the Mexican authorities in resolving this satisfactorily,†said William C. Bollard, who represents Mr. Chapman, his son Leland and Tim Chapman (no relation), a bounty-hunting colleague, all of whom helped apprehend Mr. Luster.

For now the Dog is at large, albeit with an ankle bracelet.

“If I have a fugitive on the run and have to go out at night, I have to notify them,†he said, referring to federal officials. “I have no problem with that.â€

In the month before his arrest, Mr. Chapman was busy hunting jumpers for the benefit for those who posted bond, and for a nimble A&E camera crew that jogged after them.

The show’s template is simple and effective: The quarry is selected, a plan is made among the family members who make up most of his crew, the hunt commences and then capture, usually followed by a hug at the end, although a handcuffed one.

A bad guy made good by an 18-month stint in prison on the accessory-to-murder charge, Mr. Chapman sees an arrest as a kind of intervention, a way to let the runner face the music and begin a new life.

“We put families back together,†he explained, even though they often do that by putting one of the heads of the household behind bars.

It has been wildly popular — “Dog the Bounty Hunter†is A&E’s most-watched show — partly because his mix of mayhem and moralizing has a kind of outlaw sweetness. It is a bit of Ward Cleaver, though accompanied by multiple cans of Mace, just in case.

On television, or in person during a recent visit by a reporter to Mr. Chapman’s headquarters in Hawaii, the hunt is a spectacle to behold. On a hot day near the end of August, Mr. Chapman laid out the agenda for the day. Item first and last: putting bond jumper Monalisa Hartsock in cuffs.

“She has the letter R tattooed on her left breast,†Dog told his colleagues at Da Kine Bail Bonds, which he and his wife own on Queen Emma Street in Honolulu. Speaking from behind major sunglasses that play MP3’s including “I Fought the Law†and thumping an ornate American Indian walking stick for emphasis, Dog warned that Ms. Hartsock was one of the many island inhabitants who got lost in smokable meth: “She knows she is going to jail.†The lowdown on Ms. Hartsock is followed by a shout-out to Jesus, who always rides point on any hunt.

Hawaii is a near-perfect ecosystem for bounty hunting. It is a rock, after all, thousands of miles out in the ocean, so a person can hide in only so many places.

Meth has overtaken the island, so there is no shortage of bail-jumping, tweaky perps. Dog crossed over after his prison time, but just barely, still working the corners of the law to substantial effect.

The rest of his crew could not be cast any better: Beth, a large sexpot with brutal intelligence and an oft-hidden heart of gold; Tim, the wizened sensei who works himself into a quiet rage; Duane Lee, the normal guy with abnormal biceps who loves taking down bad guys; Leland, the wayward son swaddled in tattoos and mail from adoring fans, and “Baby†Lisa, the up-and-coming toughie.

Mr. Chapman sees himself as a fisher of men, an enforcer who brings people to justice in what he calls “the cuffs of love.â€

He first turned it around as the No. 1 Kirby vacuum cleaner salesman in the country during the early 1970’s and now has taken his dust-busting ways to cleaning up the culture at large.

In a single episode he works the gutters for data, deploys phony accents and white lies on the phone, and physically tracks a runner in a way that seems a bit supernatural. It helps that most crooks are dumb as a box of rocks, but still.

The name Monalisa has Beth Chapman humming the song recorded by Nat King Cole. She has a lovely voice, albeit paired with a top-heavy endowment that borders on the architectural and a tendency to go junkyard dog when cornered. All honey for the time being, she convinces one of Monalisa’s pals who posted bail to help them find her.

Beth gently explained to Desiree that while it is hard to give up a pal, “the alternative is you have to pay the bond.†A call finally went through to Monalisa: Desiree convinced her to meet at a 76 gas station. The trap is set.

Right on schedule, Monalisa pulled in. “That’s her,†Desiree said. But Beth’s car was momentarily blocked in by Tim’s so she could not come around the other side; Monalisa saw Dog — tough to miss in his stunt mullet— hop out of Tim’s car, and she began backing up. Leland flew out of Beth’s car and filled the fleeing car with Mace, as did Duane Lee, but Monalisa tore out in reverse and careened through an intersection toward the highway, cars squealing to avoid her.

Beth, in hot pursuit, filled the car with expletives : “Of all the rookie moves in the world!†she said. She fruitlessly crisscrosses the nearby neighborhood at high speed, while the car driven by Tim does the same. Mistakes were made. (Monalisa was finally captured by Dog and company early this month.)

Dog freely admits later to messing up Monalisa’s capture. He pleads guilty as well and to rolling around in his 15 minutes. “I always wanted to be the good guy in the black hat,†he said.

Despite the success of his show, his team had to scrape together money to bail him. Each member of the crew has a hard-knock history, no one assuming they deserve or can depend on success. They may have gone Hollywood, but their trashy roots are never painted over with peroxide.

By definition, anybody Mr. Chapman catches is having a bad day, but when the chase is over, Dog always gives them a cigarette and The Talk, an echo of a life-changing discussion he had with a deputy who was taking him to jail so many years ago.

Earlier that same week in August the hunting was more fruitful. After looking all over Oahu, they found Jacob Falenofoa, another meth casualty, with the help of his wife, who co-signed the bond. They found him at the house of a girlfriend’s parents in Pearl City. Riding back on H1, a highway that heads back to Honolulu, Dog went all biblical on Jacob, talking about how the drugs he was doing “ate his brain†and how deep down he was a good family man. This being Hawaii, a rainbow bloomed to the north as the speech peaked.

Dog said he was happy with the day’s outcome.

“I believe in what I do, I am good at what I do, and I want to be able to say that Jesus played a role in it,†he said. “Never, ever, has anyone ever escaped.â€

Not even Dog. A few short weeks later, the cuffs of love found Mr. Chapman.