Let the Dog Out!

by on September 18, 2006 at 7:15 am in Current Affairs | Permalink

Dog the Bounty Hunter was arrested and jailed recently on charges related to his capture of Andrew Luster in Mexico.  Here’s a couple of paragraphs from a long-term project:

Andrew
Luster had it all, a multi-million dollar trust fund, good looks, and a bachelor
pad just off the beach in Mussel Shoals, California. Luster, the great-grandson of cosmetics
legend Max Factor, spent his days surfing and cruising the clubs. His life would have been unremarkable if sad had
he not had a fetish for sex with the unconscious. When the first woman alleged rape, Luster
claimed mutual consent but the videotapes that the police discovered when they searched
his home told a different story. Eventually
more than ten women came forward and Luster was convicted of twenty counts of
rape and sentenced to 124 years in prison. There was only one problem. Luster could not be found.

Shortly
before he was expected to take the stand, Luster withdrew funds from his stock
accounts, arranged for his dog to be taken care of and skipped town on a one
million dollar bail bond. The FBI put
Luster on their Most Wanted list but months passed with no results. In the end, the authorities never found him.  But Luster but he was brought to justice – by
a dog. Duane Chapman, now known by the
title of his television show, Dog: The Bounty Hunter, had been tracking Luster
for months. He picked up clues to his whereabouts
from old phone bills and from Luster’s mother who inadvertently revealed that
Luster spoke fluent Spanish. Finally, a
tip from someone who had seen Dog on television brought Dog to a small town in Mexico with great surfing. Days later Dog spotted Luster at a taco stand and made the arrest.

Unfortunately for Dog, bounty hunting is illegal in Mexico and the US authorities, who in my opinion are embarrassed by their failure to capture Luster, haven’t tried to intervene with the Mexican government to let the charges drop in the interests of justice.

For more on the effectiveness of bounty hunters versus the police see my paper.

10 comments

bhauth September 18, 2006 at 7:26 am

Doesn’t this only work with non-celebrities?

Peter September 18, 2006 at 9:31 am

I am inclined to believe that this arrest and extradition is politically motivated, or a cover for some other scandal not being covered in the US media. The incident happened 3 years ago (and he was arrested by the Mexicans then), why is Mexico getting hot and bothered now? Mexicans aren’t thrilled about capital punishment in the US, perhaps this is a proxy for disputing someone else’s pending execution?

However, this isn’t the first time a bounty hunter has gone to Mexico and been arrested. Bounty hunting isn’t legal in many countries, so the admonition “if you can’t do the time, don’t do the crime” comes to mind.

DK September 18, 2006 at 10:52 am

IMHO the more laughable your sovereignty is, the more you get upset about it being violated.

asiequana September 18, 2006 at 11:31 am

Hmm..Auto, you say he’s as bad as the people he hunts down and your proof is his looks? I always thought fashion police was a euphemism.

Eric Rasmusen September 18, 2006 at 1:34 pm

Details are below. Note that Condoleeza Rice will make the final decision. The November elections are close. Both Mexico and the US have a chance to look patriotic, while attaining the right result.

“The arrest warrant is under seal, and charges are expected to be announced Friday when Chapman is scheduled to appear before a magistrate’s court in Honolulu.

Larry Butrick, chief of the criminal division of the U.S. attorney’s office in Hawaii, said Chapman was arrested by Mexican authorities in June 2003 on charges of illegal detention and conspiracy.

The magistrate will determine whether Chapman can be extradited to Mexico, and the final decision will be made by the U.S. secretary of state, according to the U.S. attorney’s office in Hawaii.”

Becky September 20, 2006 at 9:58 pm

I can not belive that a man who is looking out for the
American people by capturing a wanted fugitave. Andrew
Luster was a problem to our society by raping the women
his capture was well needed. I am glad that Dog was
there to arrest this man. I can not belive that the
American goverment will not do any thing to help this
man and his family. Why wont they help a man who helped
them.

Jeane September 25, 2006 at 2:07 am

I agree with many of the people writing in that something smells fishy!! What does Bush & others in his
administration have against our own citizens. What does Mexico have against Bush etc??? This must really
be big if we can’t protect our own citizens. I feel that we should not allow any Mexicans in this country,
legally or not. Tell the corrupt Mexican government to “stick this one where the sun doesn’t shine”. If
Condolezza Rice is to make the decision, God forbid if anyone that contradicts her gets in the same or
similar predictament. We will probably overrun the Mexican jail. I personally will never buy anything
that is made in Mexico & I definately will not visit. The country never appealed to me anyway.

We, as American citizens, must demand the permanent release of Dog Duane Chapman, Leland Chapman & Tim
Chapman.

I wish the Chapmans & the families involved the best & have faith in God, & he will see that everything
is fine.

We are praying for you!!!!

Love all of you!!!

NightHunter October 12, 2006 at 10:22 am

The poster calling himself “auto” is clearly a retard. Hopefully the men in the white coats can track him down and return him to his padded cell before he hurts himself!

Since when does the US take orders from a corrupt country like Mexico? They harbor rapists, cop killers and all sorts of criminal trash over there! Why would the US agree to this nonsense? Since when do the constitutional rights of an American citizen get violated in order to appease a bunch of crooked scumbags in Mexico?

Screw you Mexico! You’ll NEVER get The Dog!!!

Hansen December 5, 2006 at 2:10 am

With all of this illegal immigration, I find it ironic that the many of the Hispanic population claims that they are not criminals because border hopping is only a misdemeanor, yet god-forbid anyone who commits a misdemeanor in their country.

I lived in Brazil for a couple of years where I’ve talked with many people whom attempted to cross our borders through Mexico. I spoke with one lady whom told me how her caravan was stopped by Mexican Police Officials. Knowing they were about to sneak across the borders, the Mexican Police forced everyone to give them money as a bribe. As soon as everyone paid up the police pointed them in the right direction. After talking with other Brazilians, whom also attempted to cross our Mexico border, I found many with a similar story.

So I find it interesting how the USA is demanded to adhere to all Mexico laws and treaties, yet they have no respect for ours. This whole thing with Dog Chapman has to be political.

Anonymous October 13, 2008 at 10:53 pm

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