Dog The Bounty Hunter premiered on A&E August 30, 2004.
My point is, that the arrest in Mexico didn't "catapult" him to fame. When did you first hear about the arrest? I've watched some of Dog's shows for the last 2 years and I never heard about the Mex arrest until a few months ago.
IOW, he was famous BEFORE the arrest came to light and he is being pursued now because of the fame he garnered since, not because of it.