Mexico Turns the Tables on Bounty Hunter

Duane “Dog” Chapman, the bounty hunter who nabbed fugitive rapist Andrew Luster, was himself declared a fugitive Tuesday by Mexican authorities after he failed to show up for a court hearing related to Luster’s capture last month in Puerto Vallarta.

Chapman -- along with his brother, Timothy, and son, Leland -- were released from jail but ordered to remain within Puerto Vallarta’s city limits while awaiting trial on a charge of depriving Luster’s liberty during his capture. But instead of checking in with Judge Jose Jesus de Pineda on Monday, Chapman was in a Ventura County courthouse seeking a portion of the $1-million bail Luster forfeited when he fled.

“They abused the benefits that the law here gave them. They think they’re heroes, they think they’re above the law,” said Puerto Vallarta Dist. Atty. Marco Roberto Juarez. “We can now consider them fugitives.”

Juarez said an order for Chapman’s “recapture” will probably be issued this week. Authorities there also plan to ask the United States to extradite Chapman to Mexico, where he would be jailed until his trial is completed, Juarez said.

Legal experts, however, said Mexico is unlikely to win extradition. Although the U.S. and Mexico have an extradition treaty, Chapman’s case is unique, they said. In the end, in the minds of officials, Chapman’s alleged offense will probably be trumped by the value of his catching Luster, said Houston-based extradition lawyer Douglas McNabb.

“Even though there’s a treaty in place, that’s certainly not an automatic,” McNabb said. “He was going down to try to find a very serious felon who jumped a state bond, he was trying to bring him back to serve a sentence, and I think there’s a lot of good in what he did.”

But another lawyer cautioned against dismissing the Mexican case for extradition.

“This case is an exact reason why the rule of law should apply, because we wouldn’t want the Mexican government to circumvent the extradition treaty” in cases where the U.S. wants someone extradited, said Los Angeles attorney Paul Hoffman, who litigated a high-profile extradition case between the U.S. and Mexico in the 1990s.

“What’s the point of having an extradition treaty if, when Mexico wants to apply it, the U.S. doesn’t respond?” he asked.

The only reason for not allowing extradition, Hoffman said, would be if there was proof that Chapman would face abuse or torture in Mexico.

Chapman’s longtime partner, Beth Smith, this week said that Chapman was treated inhumanely during his four nights in jail, an allegation denied Tuesday by Mexican officials.

Smith dismissed the Mexican trial as a “pretty nothing case” and said Chapman will not be returning “under any circumstances.” She said Chapman crossed the border legally through Tijuana.

On Monday, people in Ventura cheered Chapman and one man asked for his autograph.

Chapman told reporters that he was not required to be present during his trial, that his attorneys in Mexico were handling the proceedings. Jorge Garza, Chapman’s attorney in Jalisco state, could not be reached for comment.

Chapman did not return calls seeking comment Tuesday.

Duane, Timothy and Leland Chapman, plus a TV producer and a cameraman, captured Luster on June 18 on a busy Puerto Vallarta street. Luster was brought back to the U.S. and is now serving a 124-year sentence in state prison for drugging and raping three women.

The capture came five months after Luster, the great-grandson of cosmetics legend Max Factor, bolted during his trial in Ventura County. He was convicted in absentia.