History of the case scoll down.

Update: August 2, 2007

PUERTO VALLARTA, Mexico (AP) - A Mexican judge has ruled to close the criminal case against bounty hunter and TV reality star Duane "Dog" Chapman, but state prosecutors have appealed the decision, officials said Thursday.

In the July 27 ruling, Judge Jose Alberto Montes said the statute of limitations has expired on the case, said Guillermo Diaz, assistant prosecutor for the state of Jalisco, where Puerto Vallarta is located.

Chapman, who stars in the A&E television Hawaii-based show "Dog the Bounty Hunter," expressed relief at Montes' decision during a book signing event Wednesday night.  "The weight has been lifted off my chest," he said. "Viva la Mexico!"

Update: June 5th, 2007

Over $25,000 has been raised for Duane Chapman's legal fees.Over $25,000 has been raised for Duane Chapman's legal fees.

Update: May 7th, 2007

Reported in the Utah News, by Ben Winslow: Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff is lobbying the Mexican government to pardon "Dog the Bounty Hunter."

Shurtleff met with Duane "Dog" Chapman in Denver on Monday, where the attorney general said he is working his contacts in Mexico's government to have extradition proceedings dropped against the reality TV star.
      "He wants to make sure that justice is served," Utah Attorney General's spokesman Paul Murphy said Friday. "I don't think he's asking for special consideration because he's 'Dog,' he thinks that there's a big issue of justice here." Read on

 

History

In 2003, Duane Chapman, aka Dog the Bounty Hunter, along with his son Leland Chapman and their associate Tim Chapman, succeeded in locating notorious serial rapist Andrew Luster. Luster, who had jumped bail while he was in trial in Santa Barbara, California, and had successfully fled to Mexico. The Chapman team, after many months of research and meetings with some of Luster's victims, was intent on finding this dangerous man who had drugged, raped and videotaped his terrible assaults on women. The team located Luster in Mexico but was immediately arrested while attempting to turn Luster over to Mexican authorities. The Chapmans were charged with depriving Luster, a known fugitive, of his liberty. However, the facts clearly show that the Chapmans did not commit any crime. By contrast, Luster's crimes were clear and he was convicted of 86 counts of rape by the California Court system and sentenced to 126 years in prison.

There were no victims to the alleged crimes that the Chapmans have been charged with in Mexico. None at all! There was no intent by the Chapmans to break any known Mexican or U.S. laws. In service to the public of both countries, these men helped remove Andrew Luster from society and certainly saved many women from the trauma of rape.

September 14th, 2006, Chapman was arrested by heavily armed U.S. Marshals at his home in connection with his role in the return of fugitive Andrew Luster in Mexico in 2003. Only after 3 day's were they allowed to post a $500,000 bail to leave the federal penitentiary where they resided for 3 day's.