Duane Chapman
Duane Chapman, also known as Dog the Bounty Hunter, is an American television personality, bounty hunter, and former bail bondsman.
Chapman came to international notice as a bounty hunter for his successful capture of Max Factor heir Andrew Luster in Mexico in 2003 and, the following year, was given his own series, Dog the Bounty Hunter, on A&E. After Dog the Bounty Hunter ended, Chapman appeared in Dog and Beth: On the Hunt, a similarly formatted TV show, alongside his wife and business partner, the late Beth Chapman, on CMT. His latest series, Dog's Most Wanted, aired on WGN America in late 2019.
Early life
Childhood
Chapman was born February 2, 1953, in Denver, Colorado, to Wesley Duane Chapman, a Korean War veteran, and Barbara Darlene Chapman, a Sunday school teacher associated with the Assemblies of God USA. His father was a welder but changed careers later in life, becoming a bail bondsman after Chapman became one. Chapman had stated that his father was physically abusive.Chapman has three siblings: Jolene, Michael, and Paula. Chapman has claimed to have Native American heritage.
At the age of 15, Chapman joined the Devils Diciples, an outlaw motorcycle club, and ran away from home.
Murder of Jerry Bowers Oliver
In the late hours of September 15, 1976, 23-year-old Chapman, 22-year-old Donald Kuykendall, 17-year-old Cheryl Fisher, and 19-year-old Ruben Garza armed themselves and drove to 1072 South Prairie Drive, the home of Jerry Bowers Oliver, a 34-year-old resident of Pampa, Texas. Oliver was known to sell marijuana and the group planned to rob him. Kuykendall entered Oliver's home while Chapman, Fisher, and Garza waited outside by their vehicle. Around 11:40 p.m., Kuykendall shot Oliver in the armpit at close range with a sawed-off shotgun and the group fled the scene. Police were called to Prairie Drive and Oliver, still conscious, gave officers Kuykendall and Chapman's names. Oliver died on September 16, 1976, while undergoing emergency surgery at Northwest Texas Hospital in Amarillo, Texas, around 3:30 a.m.Police arrived at Chapman's residence at 501 Roberta Street on September 16, 1976, to arrest him. Chapman attempted to evade officers by leaving through the back door of his home but was caught and taken to the jail in Gray County. His bond was set at $10,000. Kuykendall, Fisher, and Garza were also arrested. Donnie Barton, who'd been with the group earlier that evening but did not go with them to Prairie Drive, told police the group had discussed their plan to steal marijuana from Oliver's home in front of him and that they referred to Oliver as "nigger".
On July 22, 1977, a jury of seven men and five women found Chapman, Kuykendall, and Garza guilty of murder. Though Chapman was outside when Kuykendall shot Oliver, he had brought his own weapon and supplied Kuykendall with shotgun cartridges and for that, the jury found him culpable. Fisher avoided going to trial by pleading guilty the week prior. Chapman was given a five-year prison sentence. He served 18 months at the Texas State Penitentiary in Huntsville, Texas before being paroled.
In a 2007 interview with Fox News, Chapman said that while serving his sentence, he tackled an inmate about to be shot for attempting to escape, and a congratulatory remark by a corrections officer inspired him to become a bounty hunter later. As a result of his felony conviction, Chapman is prohibited from owning firearms and has been refused entry to the United Kingdom.
Career
Capture of Andrew Luster
On June 18, 2003, Chapman made international news by capturing Max Factor cosmetics heir Andrew Luster, who had fled the United States in the middle of his trial on charges of drugging and raping a number of women. Luster had been convicted in absentia on 86 counts, including multiple rape charges connected to assaults in 1996, 1997, and 2000. Chapman was assisted by his hunt team, which consisted of his son, Leland, and an associate, Tim Chapman. The three bounty hunters captured Luster in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, where they had been living under assumed names. On their way to bring Luster to the San Diego jail, they were pulled over by Mexican police, and all four of them were jailed. Dog and Leland were arrested under suspicion of drug use. Once the authorities confirmed Luster's identity, he was sent to California to face his 125-year sentence.Chapman and his team, still in the Mexican jail, were initially denied bail, but after his wife Beth alerted the media and aroused public opinion in the United States, they were granted bail. Once out of jail on bail, they followed their attorney's advice and fled the jurisdiction, thereby becoming international bail-jumpers. On September 14, 2006, days before the expiration of the statute of limitations, Chapman, along with his son Leland Chapman and associate Tim Chapman, were arrested by United States Marshals, and jailed in Honolulu on behalf of the Mexican government. Mexican authorities had charged all three with "deprivation of liberty," involving the 2003 arrest of Andrew Luster, because bounty hunting is illegal in Mexico. Since they did not obtain permission to leave the country while out on bail in 2003, the Mexican Government declared the three of them fugitives from justice and tried to get them extradited to Mexico for sentencing. After spending one night in the federal detention center in Honolulu, Chapman told reporters "The federal marshals treated us with great respect. But let me tell you, you never want to go to a federal prison, because it's terrible."
The next day, September 15, 2006, Chapman appeared in a packed Honolulu courtroom with his ankles shackled. Although the judge agreed that the men were not a significant flight risk, he ordered that each wear an electronic monitoring device around the ankle. The three men were released on bail. Chapman's lead attorney, Brook Hart, reportedly planned to argue that although the charge Chapman faced is a misdemeanor in Mexico, when translated into English, the charge of kidnapping became a felony under American law. Mexican authorities dismissed Hart's claim and insisted that Chapman had, in fact, been charged with a felony. An extradition hearing was set for November 16, 2006.
Chapman has speculated that his arrest was due in part to a possible prisoner exchange agreement between the Mexican and American authorities. According to Chapman, the federal agents "sold him out", by trading him in for a convicted Mexican drug lord. Duane, Leland, and Tim had their ankle bracelets removed so they could work. On October 11, 2006, reports surfaced of an open letter dated September 26, 2006, sent on Chapman's behalf by 29 Republican Congressmen to U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. The letter stated the authors' opposition to Chapman's extradition and requested that Rice deny Mexico's request for same. Subsequently, on October 20, 2006, lawyers for Chapman stated the Mexican federal court had granted them an order halting the criminal case against the bounty hunter until further evidence and witness testimony was gathered. A court hearing was held on December 23, 2006. The original hearing was postponed due to a report from a lower court having not yet been received. The court heard both sides of the story then decided to recess. Court proceedings then started on January 16, 2007, and the court had until Tuesday, February 6, 2007, but the deadline was extended.
On February 16, 2007, a Mexican federal court ruled there was no reason not to try Chapman on the charge of deprivation of liberty in Mexico. In response, on February 23, Hawaii State Representatives Gene Ward, Karen Awana, Rida Cabanilla, Lynn Finnegan, Barbara Marumoto, Colleen Meyer, Kymberly Pine, Joe Bertram, Ken Ito, Marylin Lee, and John Mizuno introduced House Concurrent Resolution 50, "Requesting the President of Mexico and the Second District Court of Guadalajara to drop extradition charges against TV Bounty Hunter, Duane 'Dog' Chapman". The resolution was passed by the International Affairs committee on March 7.
During this time, Chapman, along with his new attorney, William C. Bollard, appeared on numerous media shows. Some of these include: Larry King Live, Greta Van Susteren, Mark and Mercedez Morning Show on Mix 94.1 KMXB in Las Vegas, The Morning Show with Mike and Juliet on WFLD, Fox 6 News San Diego, The Glenn Beck Program, and THE 9 on Yahoo!. Honolulu news outlet KHNL reported on August 1, 2007, the arrest warrant issued for Chapman and his associates might be invalidated, as a Mexican court had found the statute of limitations regarding the arrest had expired. The 15-page legal order was released in Spanish, and was translated and verified for legal accuracy. On September 29, 2006, Chapman received permission to have the electronic monitoring device removed temporarily so that he could travel to the East Coast for previously planned appearances. , USATODAY, September 29, 2006, 9:43am ET On August 2, 2007, the First Criminal Court in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, dismissed all criminal charges pending against Duane, Leland, and Tim Chapman, on the grounds the statute of limitations had expired. The order effectively canceled all pending charges. The prosecution appealed the ruling; this is standard practice in Mexico, according to A&E. On November 5, 2007, U.S. Magistrate Judge Barry Kurren dismissed the extradition attempt, saying that even though the cases were appealed, the trio are no longer charged with any crimes.
''Dog the Bounty Hunter''
Chapman, after decades of bounty hunting, was featured on Take This Job, a program about people with unusual occupations. This led him and the show's production company to do a spin-off about his work in capturing bail fugitives, in particular Chapman's efforts in hunting down Andrew Luster in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. After Luster's jailing, Chapman was interviewed for the August 28, 2003, episode of the truTV television series Dominick Dunne's Power, Privilege, and Justice. By now Chapman's profile had come to the attention of the American public. It was during this time A&E decided to create an ongoing reality series around his bounty hunting job. On August 30, 2004, the first series of Dog the Bounty Hunter made its television debut, running for eight seasons before being canceled in 2012. The theme song was performed by Ozzy Osbourne.In early October 2007, Chapman gained negative public attention after a private phone conversation between him and his son, Tucker, was sold to the National Enquirer. The conversation was about the relationship his son was having with a black woman. During the recording, Chapman can be heard referring to his son's girlfriend as a "nigger", discussing the word use in his household, and expressing his disdain for interracial relationships. Once the tape was made public, A&E announced it was suspending production of Chapman's TV series pending an investigation. On October 31, 2007, Chapman issued a public apology, saying that while he knew he should not have used a racial slur, that no black person had ever told him they were offended by his use of the word. On November 2, 2007, A&E announced it was nonetheless removing the show from their schedule "for the foreseeable future." On February 19, 2008, A&E released a statement that said Chapman had "taken and continues to take the appropriate steps in reaching out to several African American organizations in an effort to make amends for his private comments," and announced that Chapman's TV show would return to production. He addressed it again in 2021, in an interview with Entertainment Tonight host Kevin Frazier, denying that he was racist and saying he "had more black friends than Eminem."