Dog the Bounty Hunter Runs Free

by Jordan Yerman | August 3, 2007 at 08:22 am

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Duane Chapman, the born-again ex-con celebrity bounty hunter known as Dog, was arrested a few years ago in Mexico, where bounty hunting is illegal. He was caught in the process of collaring Andrew Luster, the Max Factor heir accused of serial rape. That capture made Dog famous, but, ironically, made him a bail-jumper as well; Chapman fled Mexico back to the USA.

Time has run out to convict Chapman, the crime-fighting star of his own "Dog the Bounty Hunter" TV reality show, of illegally nabbing convicted rapist Andrew Luster, heir to the Max Factor cosmetics fortune, attorneys said.

A judge has canceled an order for the arrest of Chapman, who for more than three years has faced the possibility of extradition to serve a jail sentence in Mexico, attorney Eduardo Amerena told Reuters.

"Chapman can now be in Mexico without any problem," Amerena said.

Chapman, a burly ex-con who says he has caught more than 7,000 criminals and fugitives, jumped bail in Mexico and fled to the United States in 2003 after spending two weeks in jail. Bounty hunting is illegal in Mexico.

Chapman's lawyers said prosecutors would almost certainly appeal but that they were confident the ruling would stand. The prosecutors' office could not be reached for comment.

Chapman was arrested after seizing Luster on the street in the tourist town of Puerto Vallarta to take him back to the United States to serve a 124-year jail sentence for drugging and raping three women.