LAWFUEL – A US Magistrate ruled on Monday that Duane ‘Dog’ Chapman will not be extradited to Mexico to face a pending appeal of kidnapping charges, apparently putting paid to the famed ‘Bounty Hunter’s’ long-running case.
The case leaves Chapman to deal with the publicity fallout from his racist language in a telephone conversation.
Chapman, his son and another colleague were arrested in 2006 in Puerto Vallarta, where bounty hunting is illegal, for the 2003 capture of Max Factor heir Andrew Luster. Luster was wanted in the U.S. for rape and is now serving a 124-year sentence. They were briefly detained in Mexico for Luster’s capture before posting bail.
Although all the pending charges against them were effectively canceled — awarding the bounty hunters “absolute and immediate freedom” by the Mexican court — prosecutors still had several days to decide whether to appeal, which they did. But Jurren dismissed the extradition attempt because — despite the appeal — the three are no technically longer charged with any offenses, according to reports.
