Bounty hunter sure he'll be cleared
By Andrew Bridges
Associated Press
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — Duane "Dog" Chapman, the Hawai'i-based bounty hunter facing charges in Mexico for capturing fugitive rapist Andrew Luster, said yesterday that he expects to be exonerated.
Associated Press
"I'm sure the Mexican authorities will decide this to go my way," said Chapman, who spoke to reporters at a news conference at Beverly Hills' Four Seasons Hotel.
Duane "Dog" Chapman, left, with brother, Tim, and son, Leland, discussed the bounty hunters' Mexican escapade during a news conference yesterday at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills. He said he'll return soon to Mexico, where they face charges of depriving rapist Andrew Luster of his liberty when they captured him there.
Chapman, wearing a poncho and snakeskin boots, sported a blackened right eye that he occasionally hid under sunglasses but would not explain.
"Many of the people in Mexico came up to me and thanked me and said, 'My daughters, my wives are safer because of you, El Perro, and your family,' " Chapman said tearfully, using the Spanish translation of his nickname.
On June 18, Chapman and companions found Luster in the Mexican resort of Puerto Vallarta and seized him. Residents alarmed by the commotion called local authorities who took all of them into custody. Chapman said Luster spit on the bounty hunters while they were in custody.
Luster was quickly deported and imprisoned in California, where he had been convicted in absentia of drugging and raping women in his Ventura County home. The great-grandson of cosmetics legend Max Factor had jumped his $1 million bail during a January break in his trial and vanished.
Mexican authorities ultimately decided that Chapman, his son, Leland, and brother, Timothy, would be charged with "deprivation of liberty."
Authorities briefly detained but did not charge two men who were along to videotape the capture. They and the Chapmans were released from custody June 21.
In his news conference, Duane Chapman said he suspected that Luster was preying on U.S. and Mexican women in Puerto Vallarta. He said his brother spotted Luster in a disco.
"My brother came and said, 'He's in the club right now and the flashing lights are on him and the girls are 17 years old walking around. He's like the troll on the bridge, rubbing his hands.' He said, 'He's looking at the prey,' " Chapman told reporters.
The bounty hunter choked up as he described the decision to apprehend Luster.
"There's a song by Eminem that says, 'Take the moment, it's your chance.' We had to protect everyone, we thought," Chapman said.
He also said he intended to return to Mexico "soon." He said he never thought he was breaking Mexican law.
"We still don't think we broke the law," Chapman said.
Chapman's U.S. attorney, James E. Blancarte, said he did not expect that Chapman would have to serve any more time in custody in Mexico. Chapman said his Mexican attorneys were "working on all legal issues."
Boris Krutonog, part of the video crew that taped the capture, said after the press conference that he did not know if there had been any discussion among the bounty hunters about the legality of apprehending Luster in Mexico.
"Dog always does the same thing. He picks up his guys and takes them to the police station. This was supposed to be no different," Krutonog said.
While Chapman would not answer a reporter's question about the black eye, the bounty hunter's entertainment lawyer, Les Abell, said Chapman told him it was "the cost of doing business."
