Mexico Lets Dog Off Leash

Wed., Jan. 30, 2008 4:27 PM PST by Josh Grossberg

The Dog is free. And he didn't even have to beg.

A Mexican appeals court has ruled that Duane "Dog" Chapman cannot be extradited to the country to face kidnapping charges for his 2003 collar of Max Factor heir and convicted rapist Andrew Luster.

"We are ecstatic that this nightmare is finally over and happy to see the Mexican justice system works," the 54-year-old Dog the Bounty Hunter star and his wife, Beth, said in a statement. "We can all now move forward."

Chapman's attorney, James A. Quadra, welcomed the three-judge panel's unanimous decision.

"There's nothing pending in Mexico. There's no avenue of any appeal from the district attorney. All charges have been dismissed, and there's no basis for them to seek any extradition," the legal eagle told E! Online.

Dog waged a heated four-year battle with Mexican authorities over the Luster incident.

Luster jumped bail and fled to Puerto Vallarta rather than face a lengthy sentence for sexually assaulting three women.

After tracking him down, Chapman, his 29-year-old son, Leland, and 41-year-old Tim Chapman (no relation) faced serious repercussions: Bounty hunting is against the law south of the border.

The cosmetics scion was convicted in absentia and, upon his return, began serving a 124-year prison sentence. The Chapmans' role in his capture led to them landing their hit A&E reality series.

However, for forcibly removing Luster from Mexico's jurisdiction, local prosecutors filed kidnapping charges against the trio and sought their extradition. Dog and his mates went from hunters to hunted and were collared by U.S. Marshalls in 2006.

Finally, last July , a Mexican judge dismissed the charges on a technicality, ruling that prosecutors took to long to bring the case. It was their appeal that was smacked down on Tuesday.

"Dog is happy that this whole thing is in the past now and he can move forward," said Quadra. "His is free to travel both in the U.S. and in Mexico. He's free to go anywhere he wants to go."

TV, however, may not be on the itinerary anytime soon.

A&E indefinitely shelved the hugely popular Dog the Bounty Hunter in November after a voicemail was leaked in which Chapman used the N-bomb to refer to his son's African-American girlfriend.

A chastened Dog issued a slew of public apologies, did damage control on CNN's Larry King Live and met with various African-American leaders, but A&E has yet to reinstate the show.