Lawmaker wants Mexico to drop charges against 'Dog'
Advertiser Staff
A state lawmaker wants the Legislature to take a stand in support of TV bounty hunter Duane "Dog" Chapman, who faces possible extradition to Mexico.
Rep. Gene Ward, R-17th (Kalama Valley, Queen's Gate, Hawai'i Kai), introduced House Concurrent Resolution 50, requesting that the Legislature ask the Mexican government and courts to drop charges against him.
Chapman is expected to appear before the House International Affairs Committee, which is hearing the measure at 9 a.m. Wednesday at the State Capitol, Room 329.
Chapman, along with his son Leland and colleague Timothy Chapman, are accused of unlawfully depriving the freedom of international fugitive and convicted serial rapist Andrew Luster when the three caught up with him in 2003 in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, and attempted to take him to the United States. Luster is serving a 124-year sentence in California.
"I have received testimony from all over the world on this issue, and it is not something the people of Hawai'i and the nation are taking lightly; the 'Dog' needs to be free from a Mexican jail," Ward said in a news release.
An appeals court in Mexico last month rejected Chapman's bid to stop extradition proceedings. The Chapmans' lawyer, William Bollard, said he will appeal that ruling.
Correction: Duane “Dog” Chapman captured Andrew Luster in Mexico in 2003. A previous version of this story incorrectly said it happened last year.
