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Bounty hunter 'Dog' was really on vacation, lawyers claim
PUERTO VALLARTA, Mexico (CNN) -- Attorneys for the Honolulu bounty hunter arrested in the capture of fugitive rapist Andrew Luster told CNN that Duane "Dog" Chapman and four others were on vacation in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, when they spotted the suspect. They said the five -- who have been charged with illegal deprivation of freedom and criminal association -- weren't in Mexico for the purpose of arresting Luster. The five are Chapman, his son, his brother and two members of a TV crew , ostensibly on hand to tape Luster's capture. The men have been free on $1,500 bond each but have been ordered to stay in Puerto Vallarta and check in with authorities every week. Mexican police took Luster, Chapman and the other four men into custody Tuesday night after stopping two SUVs in which they were riding. The bounty hunter and his team allegedly had subdued Luster outside a Puerto Vallarta nightclub after a struggle, put him in a vehicle and left the scene, police said. Chapman's attorneys said the five happened to be out one night dining when they spotted and recognized Luster. They then decided to apprehend him. Previously, Chapman told police his objective was to capture Luster and return him to the United States, and the TV crew was on hand to record the capture of the wealthy fugitive. In a Court TV interview, Chapman earlier said that his pursuit of Luster had become "personal." "I'm a bounty hunter, this is the No. 1 fugitive in America, and I'm on his ass," Chapman said. "This one has become personal. If one of the victims comes up to me and says, 'Dog, thank you,' that's it. I'm paid." A Jalisco state judicial source confirmed that the attorneys filed a written declaration to the court saying that capturing Luster was an incidental aside to Chapman's vacation.
The source said the claim contradicts an earlier statement to police from the TV crew contending the five purposely went to Mexico to apprehend Luster. Luster, the great-grandson of cosmetics tycoon Max Factor, fled California in January in the middle of his trial on 86 counts stemming from the rapes of three women who were apparently incapacitated with GHB, the "date rape" drug. At the time, he was free on $1 million bond. After his disappearance, the jury convicted him in absentia, and he was sentenced to 124 years in prison. He was returned to California Thursday and taken to a state prison to begin serving that sentence. Chapman, who claims to have captured more than 6,000 fugitives, began tracking Luster the day after he disappeared, hoping to claim some of the proceeds from the forfeited bond. But Mexican officials said he was not authorized to track Luster and take him into custody in Mexico. The Jalisco source said bounty hunting is illegal in Mexico. Correspondent Thelma Gutierrez contributed to this report
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