ASSOCIATED PRESS
A news conference showcasing bounty hunters Duane "Dog" Chapman, left, half brother Tim, center, and son Leland was held yesterday at the Four Seasons hotel in Los Angeles. The three were credited with tracking down fugitive rapist Andrew Luster in Mexico and were subsequently held on misdemeanor charges of deprivation of liberty.
Duane "Dog" Chapman returns
to the United States after
being held in Mexico
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. >> The Hawaii-based bounty hunter facing charges in Mexico for capturing fugitive rapist Andrew Luster said yesterday that he expects to be exonerated.
"I'm sure the Mexican authorities will decide this to go my way," said Duane "Dog" Chapman, who called a press conference at Beverly Hills' Four Seasons hotel after his return to the United States.
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 the bounty hunter 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, 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. All five were released from custody on June 21.
Chapman told reporters that he feared 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 said.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Bounty hunter Duane "Dog" Chapman, center, wife Beth, right, and half brother Tim, left, departed a news conference yesterday in Los Angeles. The men were back on U.S. soil after being held in Mexico on misdemeanor charges related to their capture of U.S. fugitive Andrew Luster.
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," he said.
Chapman 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 Blancarte, said he did not expect his client 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 his client told him it was "the cost of doing business."
