Judge Keeps Dog Leashed
A federal judge has refused to toss Duane "Dog" Chapman a bone, declining to drop a $300,000 bond against the TV bounty hunter—and newly minted bestselling author.
The move comes four weeks after a Mexican court dropped charges against Chapman and two others for tracking down and capturing fugitive rapist and Max Factor heir Andrew Luster in Puerto Vallarta in 2003.
Luster ended up with a 124-year prison sentence, and Chapman's role in the high-profile case landed him his own reality series on A&E, Dog the Bounty Hunter.
However, bounty hunting is illegal in Mexico, and authorities charged the Hawaii-based bail bondsman with "deprivation of liberty." At the behest of prosecutors in Mexico, he was apprehended by U.S. Marshals last September. Chapman was released on the $300,000 bond.
But on July 30 Mexican judge Jose Alberto Montes dismissed the charges, which carry a maximum penalty of four years in prison, ruling the statute of limitations had expired. Prosecutors have appealed the decision.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Barry Kurren left the bond in effect last week. The U.S. Office of International Affairs in Washington opposed lifting the bond, and a federal prosecutor apparently wanted more time to evaluate the case.
Kurren set an Oct. 26 hearing to determine whether to keep the order in effect. In the meantime, Chapman—currently in the middle of a book tour promoting his new autobiography, You Can Run, But You Can't Hide—is allowed to travel, as long as he notifies the court.
"We're devastated," Chapman and his wife, Beth, said in a statement. "We love this country and are proud to be Americans, so this is absolutely devastating that we can now roam free in Mexico, but not in our own country."
Aside from possibly a couple federal officials, it appears the country loves Dog back. You Can Run, But You Can't Hide just hit the top spot on the New York Times nonfiction bestseller list.
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