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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Monday, May 18, 2009

Charges dropped in reported attack


Associated Press

Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

Duane "Dog" Chapman

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COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Prosecutors have dropped charges against a man accused of shooting at bounty hunter Duane "Dog" Chapman and his Colorado bounty hunter, Bobby Brown, during a pursuit being videotaped for A&E's "Dog the Bounty Hunter" reality TV show.

An attempted-murder charge was dropped because of conflicting witness statements and because the evidence was weak, El Paso County Assistant District Attorney Dan Zook said last week.

Chapman and Brown told Colorado Springs police they were fired on while chasing Hoang Nguyen, 35, last month after Nguyen missed a court date on a domestic violence charge.

Chapman and Brown say they were uninjured.

Zook said Brown, Chapman and Chapman's son, Leland, gave conflicting accounts about whether they saw a gun and how far away the alleged shooter was. Police found no bullet hole, bullet or shell casing, and Chapman didn't respond to several requests for videotapes of the incident, Zook said.

Chapman said he was satisfied with the outcome.

"It's my job to find 'em and fix 'em — not put more charges on a fugitive," he said in a statement released by a publicist. "That's not my style. Nguyen apologized to me when I captured him, and I'm cool with that."

Nguyen's public defender, Bill Schoewe, says he plans to ask the judge to order prosecutors to file false-reporting charges over the incident and advised Nguyen to file a civil suit.