Bounty Hunter Charged After Capture

ByABC News via logo
June 20, 2003, 3:22 PM

June 20 -- Duane "Dog" Chapman, the bounty hunter who worked for six months to capture fugitive Max Factor cosmetics heir Andrew Luster, now faces charges himself in Mexico, just two days after bagging his quarry.

Mexican authorities confirmed they have charged Chapman with deprivation of freedom related to his involvement in Luster's recovery, his attorney George Garza said.

Chapman is expected to be moved from the local jail he's been held in since Wednesday to the central jail in Puerto Vallarta later today, where he will appear before a judge. He is likely to be released on bail later this afternoon, but it is unclear whether he will be allowed to leave Mexico.

Chapman captured Luster on Wednesday outside a nightclub, but Mexican authorities called to the scene of the capture took both men into into custody while they resolved who was who.

Luster is now serving a 124-year sentence he had dodged by fleeing to Mexico after his conviction in January for drugging and raping three women. He was extradited back to California on Thursday.

Chapman's partner and wife, Beth Smith, told Good Morning America on Thursday how hard they had worked to get Luster. "We've been researching for him. We have ate, slept and drank this person for six months. I've hardly seen my husband. He missed Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, Father's Day," she said.

Smith, a bounty hunter herself who often works with "Dog," said the long hours were worth it to catch Luster, an heir to the Max Factor cosmetics fortune who was convicted in absentia of drugging and raping the three women.

"I couldn't be happier that Andrew Luster is in custody. Dog did a very good job. He worked very, very hard."

In the course of their investigation, Chapman's team assembled a "scrapbook" of material on Luster, including information from police, Luster's victims, and even cosmetic surgeons.

Smith said the hunt cost Chapman thousands from his own pocket, in the hopes of collecting the $150,000 reward.