Posted on 12/05/2006 9:45:14 AM PST by jmc813
HONOLULU -- Duane "Dog'' Chapman is waiting to hear whether a Mexican federal court will set him free or order his pending extradition and criminal case to proceed.
The 53-year-old TV bounty hunter is charged under Mexican law with "deprivation of liberty'' for his June 2003 capture of fugitive convicted rapist Andrew Luster, the Max Factor heir, in Puerto Vallarta.
Sunday night, Chapman, his wife and his attorney appeared on CNN's "Larry King Live" program to plead his case.
Chapman said that he was approached before the extradition by a lawyer in Mexico who arranged his release and was asked for more than $250,000 as a payment. Chapman said he was told by the lawyer that things "would not go well" if the payment wasn't made.
The three were also joined by Colorado Rep. Tom Tancredo is urging Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice not to extradite bounty hunter Chapman to Mexico.
Tancredo said he was told by state department officials that a letter from 29 congressman about the Chapman case "was on Rice's desk" but not yet read by Rice.
Tancredo also questioned why the administration agreed to consider Chapman's extradition on what he called a misdemeanor charge in Mexico.
"Inside, I'm dying,'' Chapman said in an interview with The Associated Press at his spacious ocean-view home last week. "On the outside, I'm a Hawaiian citizen.''
His attorney, Bill Bollard, will present arguments starting Monday. Chapman will not attend the closed hearing in Guadalajara.
"We consider this a critical hearing because it could resolve the matter,'' Bollard said. "We're putting a lot of eggs in this basket because if we can cut it off at the path, the (criminal) trial never takes place.''
Chapman was arrested Sept. 14 along with his son and another associate and is free on $300,000 bail. He has been aggressively fighting extradition.
"It's been the most nervous week by far in many years," he told the AP. "In Mexico, you're guilty until proven innocent. It's not like America. You must prove your innocence. That's their law. It's nothing bad or good. That's just their law."
Chapman faces up to four years in a Mexican jail if convicted.
"It's very ironic isn't it?" said his wife, Beth Chapman. "He may go to jail for catching a rapist. We're in trouble because we caught America's escaped prisoner."
Chapman's capture of Luster catapulted the Honolulu-based bounty hunter to fame and led to the A&E reality series "Dog the Bounty Hunter."
Luster jumped a $1 million bond and disappeared during his trial in California's Ventura County on charges that he drugged and raped three women. The disappearance set off a national and international manhunt by police, FBI and bounty hunters trying to recoup some of the bond money. Luster is now serving a 124-year prison term.
Chapman said he was never paid for Luster's capture.
Chapman also told King he feared for his safety in any jail since he caught more than 6,000 fugitives in his career.
Interesting that Mexico doesn't enforce its laws against narco-criminals, murderers, and rapists, but it does enforce them against bail bondsmen.
Harboring rich american felons has always been one of Mexico's biggest GDP generators.
"was on Rice's desk" but not yet read by Rice."
State set the whole thing up to begin with!
They better not extradite him to Mexico. He'll be dead in a week. Our government can't be stupid enough to actually honor Mexico's little rigged, corrupt justice system, can it?
I would think Tony Garza would be helpful in this situation, not Condi. After all, he's our Ambassador to Mexico and married to the wealthiest woman in Mexico.
Ok how come ?
ping
WRONG you journalistic dweeb. He had the show long before this case happened.
Sorry, but you are mis-informed. The capture of Luster came first, and then the show.
I saw him and his wife being interviewed on some program last night (not Larry King), and they both kept referring to Tancredo as the Senator - repeatedly.
State received a request from the Mexican Government to detain Dog and Co. State agreed and sent the Marshals in.
From you: WRONG you journalistic dweeb. He had the show long before this case happened.
You sure the show came first?
It's part of a diplomacy ploy on a larger scale to get Jack Bauer back from China. )~sarc
Outstanding.
Just think, if General Santa Anna had been smart in 1836, he could have had his Mexican Government send a request to the State Department and had the Marshals arrest Davie Crockett and the other Americans in the Alamo for committing crimes against Mexico. :)
You think they'll really extradite him?
(..honor the corrupt Mex system..)
Maybe they will ask the congress and senate.
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