Updated at 11:32 p.m., Thursday, February 15, 2007
Mexico court clears way for 'Dog' Chapman extradition
Advertiser Staff and News Services
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Norma Jara, a spokeswoman for the second district court in Guadalajara, said the court rejected Chapman's injunction request, ruling there was no reason not to try him with deprivation of liberty.
Chapman's lawyers argued he would not be guaranteed a fair trial in Mexico, Jara said.
Chapman issued a statement tonight, saying, "We only just heard about the Mexican court's decision to continue with the extradition proceedings, and are still in shock. Our attorneys have not even been formally informed of the court's decision, as of yet. We are obviously deeply disappointed and fearful of what will happen, and are currently absorbing the news and discussing our options at this time."
Brook Hart, Chapman's lawyer, said, "This is not a matter that is a great surprise. We intend to file an appeal."
Hart said he had not received official word of the court ruling.
The charges against the 53-year-old star of the A&E reality series "Dog the Bounty Hunter" stem from his June 2003 capture of convicted rapist Andrew Luster, the Max Factor heir, in Puerto Vallarta, 210 miles west of Guadalajara.
Luster had fled from California six months earlier. His disappearance set off an international manhunt by police, FBI and bounty hunters trying to recoup some of the bond money.
Luster's capture shot Chapman, a Honolulu-based bounty hunter, to fame and led to the TV series. Luster is now serving a 124-year prison term in California.
Duane Chapman, his son Leland Chapman and an associate, Tim Chapman (no relation), were arrested by Mexican authorities the morning after they had caught Luster.
The three posted bail, then later left Mexico. Last month, they were arrested in Honolulu and held overnight at the Federal Detention Center before they were released on $300,000 bail. They face up to four years in a Mexican jail if convicted.
The arrests have sparked a nationwide protest by supporters trying to halt the extradition of the popular TV star and the two other men.
The Chapmans' attorneys also said they were providing the Mexican court with evidence that the three were not trying to leave Mexico with Luster, but were headed to a Mexican police station to turn him in when they got arrested.
Brook Hart, Duane Chapman's Honolulu attorney, said Chapman thought he could legally arrest Luster under the Mexican constitution because Luster had violated Mexican law by entering the country under a false name. In addition, the Chapmans were with a man they believed was an on-duty Mexican police officer when they caught Luster, and they later left the country on the "faulty" advice of a Mexican lawyer who told them they could leave, Hart said.
