Dog Bites Back in TV Special
Dog may be in the pound, but that doesn't mean he can't go on with the show.
Duane "Dog" Chapman, collared last week by U.S. marshals for possible extradition to Mexico, plans to chronicle his legal dilemma in a special edition of his popular A&E show, Dog the Bounty Hunter.
According to the cable channel, the 53-year-old bounty hunter will tell his side of the story to his fans in a one-hour special titled Dog: The Family Speaks set to air tonight at 10 p.m. ET/PT.
Chapman, his son, Leland Chapman, 29, and business partner Timothy Chapman (no relation), 41, were taken into custody in Hawaii by federal marshals early Thursday morning at the behest of Mexican authorities. The Dog posse was wanted on charges of illegal detention and conspiracy related to the 2003 capture of Andrew Luster, the Max Factor heir who was convicted in absentia of sexually assaulting three women in California and then fled south of the border.
The apprehension made Chapman's career. Not only was Luster returned to the U.S. to begin serving a 124-year prison term, but the publicity surrounding the incident led to A&E offering Chapman his own TV show.
But bounty hunting is a crime in Mexico. Dog and his two mates were nabbed by Mexican police, charged and released on bail. They were scheduled to appear at a court hearing on July 15, 2003, but never showed, ironically making them fugitives.
The trio of Chapmans was freed on $300,000 bond Friday and now await an extradition hearing to determine whether they'll be shipped back to Mexico.
Chapman, a former felon who claims to have brought in 6,000 bounties in his colorful career, must wear an electronic monitoring device on his ankle and is prohibited from leaving his home between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. without permission.
On tonight's special, the thrice-divorced father of 12 and head of Da Kine Bail Bonds will appear with his current wife, Beth Chapman, and discuss the case. He's scheduled to recount his tracking of Luster to Puerta Vallarta and discuss his thoughts on Thursday's arrest and what he expects at his extradition hearing.
We assume Chapman will also bring up his contention that U.S. authorities sold him out as part of a secret deal with the Mexico to swap the bounty hunters for Tijuana drug lord Francisco Rafael Arellano Felix. Felix was handed over to U.S. authorities two days before Chapman's arrest at his Hawaii home.
"If cop killers...and drug lords that have hurt thousands of people are brought back from Mexico, and my sentence is six months, then I'll gladly meet him at the Juarez border, if they turn him over," Chapman sniffed to MSNBC, adding that he was "completely freaked out" by his own apprehension on Thursday.
A Justice Department spokesman, however, says Chapman's allegations have more bark than bite.
"There is no connection," spokesman Bryan Sierra told the New York Post. "That is just complete speculation from someone who wouldn't know."
Meanwhile, expect Chapman to go into more detail on the case in his memoir, You Can Run But You Can't Hide: The Life and Times of Dog the Bounty Hunter, due out in February.
As for Dog's ever-devoted followers, more 18,000 fans have signed a petition demanding the U.S. and Mexico government drop their charges against a man "who does so much to improve our society and rid the screets of criminals."
Now in its third season, Dog the Bounty Hunter continues to rank as A&E's most watched television program.
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