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 News from Around the Americas | October 2006 
US Lawmakers Urge Denial to Mexico of Bounty Hunter
 Jerry Seper - Washington Times
| | A spokeswoman for the Chapman family, Mona K. Wood, described the arrest as "shocking" and declared that Mr. Chapman's file will be cleared. |
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has been asked by 29 members of Congress to deny an extradition request by the Mexican government for Duane "Dog" Chapman, the Honolulu-based bounty hunter who faces charges there for his capture of a fugitive convicted rapist three years ago.
"Just days before the Mexican statute of limitations on prosecuting Chapman were set to expire, it seems the State Department is proceeding with efforts to extradite Mr. Chapman back to Mexico to face criminal prosecution," the House members said.
"It makes no sense. It seems that Mexican authorities are pressing this case only because they are so stung by the embarrassment of failing where Mr. Chapman succeeded," they said.
Mr. Chapman, 53, who stars on the television show "Dog the Bounty Hunter," was arrested last month by U.S. marshals in Hawaii on charges of illegal detention and conspiracy in his June 18, 2003, capture in Mexico of cosmetics heir Andrew Luster. Also arrested were Mr. Chapman's son, Leland, 29, and an associate, Timothy Chapman, 41, no relation.
Bounty hunting is illegal in Mexico, and Mexican Consul General Martha Lara told CNN that Mr. Chapman was not permitted to enter the country to pursue fugitives.
After spending a night in a Honolulu jail, Mr. Chapman was released on $300,000 bail. The others were released after posting $100,000 bail. The three have been ordered to appear at an extradition hearing, which has not been scheduled.
Charges have been pending against the three in Mexico since their arrest of Luster. They posted bail but never returned for a July 15, 2003, court hearing. Mexican authorities had demanded that Mr. Chapman transfer Luster to their custody, but he refused.
A spokeswoman for the Chapman family, Mona K. Wood, described the arrest as "shocking" and declared that Mr. Chapman's file will be cleared.
"This was a shock, and is obviously a very upsetting time for the Chapman family," she said. "Chapman is a true modern-day hero. He arrests the bad guys -- he is definitely not one of them. He shall be vindicated."
Luster, 39, was taken into custody by the bounty hunters at a Puerto Vallarta nightclub more than five months after fleeing the United States while on trial on charges he raped three women. He was returned to California to begin serving a 124-year prison sentence.
He is the great-grandson of Max Factor, who built a cosmetics empire in the 1920s that catered to the movie industry.
Luster was convicted in absentia with raping the women after drugging them with GHB, the so-called date rape drug. Prosecutors said investigators found videotapes of Luster having sex with the unconscious women.
A U.S. couple spotted the fugitive in Puerto Vallarta and contacted the bounty hunters. They also had called the FBI, and a legal liaison for the FBI was en route from Guadalajara, Mexico, to Puerto Vallarta to follow up on a tip.
| • R E A D E R S ' C O M M E N T S •
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Dear President Fox:
I am a young mother from the USA, and I am proud to say that I am the only daughter of someone that I refer to as being "a full-blooded Mexican man." I am writing my comment even though I have no doubt you have heard as much as you have ever probably wanted to hear about Dog the Bounty Hunter.
Please bear with me a little longer. There have been many statements on the internet that have used words like "demand" and other words, however, I was raised in the old ways where the men showed respect to their women, and fathers did anything to make sure their daughters were safe.
Although I have never personally met Mr. Chapman, I know that at no time did he mean any disrespect to you or your government. I hope there are those that can understand that at the time this happened, he was only thinking as a father and someone who upholds the law in not only getting a convicted rapist off of your streets but also giving Luster's American victims some much sought-after peace of mind.
I have much respect for any man that is trying to better the way of life in their cities. All I ask is if there is another way that this can be resolved instead of allowing Luster to destroy more families.
- Melissa |
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