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[Sherry]

State high court upholds Luster ruling
Justices refuse to review denial of fugitive's conviction appeal

By David Kravets, AP legal affairs writer
September 11, 2003

SAN FRANCISCO -- Max Factor cosmetics heir Andrew Luster cannot appeal his rape convictions because he fled his trial and became a fugitive, the California Supreme Court decided Wednesday.

Luster, 39, the great-grandson of the cosmetics legend, was convicted earlier this year of raping three women after inviting them to his Mussell Shoals beach house and knocking them out with the date-rape drug GHB. During his Ventura County trial this year, he fled and was convicted in absentia and sentenced to 124 years of imprisonment.





Usually, criminal defendants convicted of crimes can appeal their sentences and convictions. But the so-called "fugitive disentitlement doctrine" generally prohibits fugitives from appealing their federal or state convictions, or places limitations on such appeals.

A bounty hunter captured Luster in Mexico on June 18, five months after he fled and was convicted and later sentenced to a life term. Luster is now in prison.

On appeal, his attorneys contended they were wrongly barred from cross-examining a rape victim, that the police wrongly searched his home where they found videos of some of the rapes, and that law enforcement authorities coached the rape victims with their statements.

Without addressing the merits of Luster's appeal, a Ventura appeals court dismissed it in July, ruling that the fugitive doctrine, meant to punish fugitives and deter flight, bars him from making a case.

"But for his capture, he would be a fugitive to this day," appeals court Justice Kenneth Yegan wrote in prohibiting Luster from appealing.

A unanimous California Supreme Court, without comment, declined Wednesday to review that decision.

Roger Diamond, Luster's attorney, urged the court to reinstate the appeal. Not allowing Luster to challenge his conviction "offends fundamental notions of human dignity and constitutes cruel and unusual punishment," he told the justices in court briefs.

In an interview, Diamond said he would ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review the matter. "He should have a right to go ahead with the appeal," he said.

Ventura County prosecutor Maeve Fox said a contrary decision Wednesday "would have sent the wrong message for other people contemplating fleeing from justice."

The state Supreme Court has not clearly defined the fugitive doctrine. In 1880, it allowed a 30-day grace period for fugitives to surrender to maintain their appellate rights. In 1982, the high court said a fugitive convicted of burglary lost appellate rights after being in hiding for 10 years.

In March, however, a Los Angeles-based state appeals court said a convicted rapist who was apprehended in South Korea after being a fugitive for two years could appeal his conviction. The 2nd District Court of Appeal said that it would be a "palpable injustice" if the defendant were not allowed to appeal his conviction and life term.

Meanwhile, Luster's three rape victims have sued him for emotional distress, rape, assault, negligence and fraud. A judge awarded one victim $19 million last month. The two other cases are pending.

An attorney for one of the victims told a Ventura County Superior Court judge on Tuesday that his client wants Luster to pay her more than $20 million in damages.

"The conduct here is beyond outrageous," attorney William Daniels told the judge at the conclusion of a three-day civil trial.

[TheTruth]

www.whdh.com/news/articles/national/A7832/

[TheTruth]

www.courttv.com/news/2003/0620/lusterappeal_ctv.html
Updated June 20, 2003, 6:58 p.m. ET
Luster's last stand could revive his appeal bid

By Matt Bean
Court TV
Now that Andrew Luster's south-of-the-border vacation has ended behind bars in California, his lawyer is revisiting the convicted rapist's chances for another trial.

Earlier this month, when Luster was still on the run, an appellate court denied his request for an appeal, citing the "fugitive disentitlement doctrine," a principle of law that bars certain fugitives the right to appeal.

On Friday, however, his lawyer, Roger Jon Diamond, launched an effort to reinstate his client's appeal bid on the grounds that Luster is no longer at large.

Diamond contends that unlike other fugitives the doctrine has been applied to, Luster fled during his trial, not during the appeals process—preventing him from ever launching the appeal bid he may deserve.

The argument prompts the legal question: does when a defendant flees affect their right to an appeal?

Luster, heir to the Max Factor cosmetics fortune, was collared early Wednesday morning by bounty hunter Duane "Dog" Chapman in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.



Duane "Dog" Chapman


Convicted in absentia of raping three women after giving them the "date rape" drug GHB and sentenced to 124 years in prison, Luster had been a fugitive for five months.

A day after Luster began serving his 124-year sentence in California's Wasco State Prison, his lawyer got off to a rocky start with the appeal bid.

Early Friday morning, Diamond went to the Los Angeles branch of the California Supreme Court with petition in hand. A clerk told him the appellate court still had jurisdiction, according to a representative with Diamond's office. (The Supreme Court did not return requests for comment.)

The lawyer quickly dictated an abbreviated request for a rehearing with the 2nd District Court of Appeals in Los Angeles. That court agreed with prosecutors earlier on June 10 that Luster had forefeited his right to challenge his conviction when in January he headed for Mexico during a recess in his trial.

Now that Luster is in custody, the "fugitive disentitlement doctrine" rationale the court invoked in declining to hear his appeal is moot, says his lawyer.

Honed by case law rather than coded in state statutes, California's version of the "common law principle" of fugitive disentitlement serves to punish those who "flaunt" the system, discourage potential fugitives from fleeing, and free the court from making decisions that are of questionable value when the defendant is thousands of miles away.

Luster's lawyer contends that the law has so far dealt only with defendants that fled after they were convicted and not, as Luster did, during the actual trial.

"It is time for this Court to clearly spell out whether there is a difference between a defendant who flees while his trial is pending as opposed to a defendant who flees while his appeal is pending," said Diamond in a copy of his Supreme Court petition obtained by CourtTV.com.

The real question is: Will the appeals court think the difference is significant enough to reverse its own decision?

"He's arguing the strict definition of the statute. I think that's a good argument," said criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor Terry Bird. "What he's saying is, 'Look, we never filed an appeal in the first place. We never had a chance to start the process.'"

One recent California case involving a fugitive who was granted an appeal after he was captured could bode well for Luster's own bid for a chance at a new trial.

In 1999, Hyun Gu Kang was convicted of rape, sodomy, robbery, burglary, and conspiracy charges. He posted bond, and then skipped town before his sentencing.

An appeal filed on Kang's behalf was dismissed, but in October 2001, Kang was extradited from South Korea, and his attorneys asked the original trial judge to reinstate the appeals process. In April, 2003, the appellate court ultimately granted Kang an appeal.

"Because Kang is now in custody and no longer a fugitive, the decision of the appellate court is enforceable," said the court. "It may be true that Kang flouted the authority of the trial court when he failed to appear for sentencing and became a fugitive, but disentitlement of Kang to foreclose appellate review is not desirable."

Kang's case does not dovetail neatly with Luster's, but Diamond is hoping the court will focus on the one key similarity—that both men fled before the appeals process had began.

"I don't think it's out of the question that he might be able to get his appeal reinstated now that he's been captured," said Jean Rosenbluth, an expert on the issue and a professor at USC Law School.

"Now that he's been captured, it almost puts the government in a worse position," said the former federal prosecutor. "People are very loathe to put people in jail for the rest of their lives without giving them a chance to show the trial was fair or unfair."

According to Rosenbluth, the appellate court could change course and grant the returned Luster an appeal. It then would look at Diamond's complaints with the first trial.

Diamond said Friday that if his appeal was reinstated, it would focus on "at least 25 errors of law."

Luster and Diamond have both maintained that the victims were "acting," and the sex was consensual. But during the trial, Diamond's efforts to advance this theory were curbed.

According to Los Angeles criminal defense attorney Anthony Salerno, this could be one of the chief concerns for an appeal—should the case make it that far.

"They basically cut out the heart of his defense," said Salerno.

If the appellate court denies the appeal, the matter will become an issue for the Supreme Court on July 10, 30 days after the initial denial.

A likely argument for the prosecution, said Bird, a former prosecutor himself, would be that Luster denied himself the chance to launch an appeal—so it's his tough luck.

Deputy district attorney Maeve Fox, who prosecuted Luster, said Diamond was "drawing a difference without a distinction." In other words: "Who cares?"

"I just cannot imagine that they're going to make a distinction," said Fox. I think under Kang the court at least has to give him at least a cursory review." But "They're going to look at the weight of the evidence that we have, including those videotapes, and regardless of any minor errors that there were made, it doesn't matter. That was the easiest case I ever tried. The amount of evidence was crushing. If you looked really closely you could see the girls breathing in the videotapes, but they looked dead."

Joseph Lee of the California Attorney General's office, said he had not reviewed Diamond's aborted Supreme Court argument, but would maintain his course in the court of appeals. "It's our position that the appeal has been dismissed and the right to the appeal has been forfeited," said the lawyer.

[TheTruth]

www.courttv.com/news/feature/absentia_ctv.html
The trial must go on: Conviction in absentia
By Matt Bean
Court TV
Days after cosmetics heir Andrew Luster ditched his Ventura County, Calif., rape trial, his truck was found, his dog was found, and on Jan. 21 Luster was found guilty of raping three women. So now it's only Luster himself who remains to be found, a convicted felon on the lam three weeks and counting.

Luster's disappearance may have hurt him at trial, but it could help him in the long run. His attorney, Roger Jon Diamond, says the jury was prejudiced by Luster's absence, providing one of many grounds for appeal.

"They were given the instruction that flight could be construed as consciousness of guilt," said Diamond. "It did impact it."

Luster is not the only defendant to jump a sinking ship. In August 2001, a Bronx couple jumped their $5,000 bail after being charged with snatching and imprisoning a 12-year-old girl in March 1998. They were convicted in absentia in September, sentenced to 25 years, and hit with additional felony bail-jumping charges after being nabbed in November 2001.



"Hippie Guru" Ira Einhorn was convicted at a second trial of killing Holly Maddux, his girlfriend.

In 1993, the Pennsylvania legislature granted a new trial to hippie guru Ira Einhorn, who was convicted while on the lam in France of murdering his girlfriend in 1979. French officials refused to extradite him, not recognizing convictions in absentia. But the new trial led to the same result. In 2002, Einhorn was convicted and sentenced to life in prison.

Not every state instructs a jury that a defendant's absence may be considered consciousness of guilt, as in California. As veteran criminal defense attorney Pamela Hayes points out, some, like New York, actually do the opposite.

"Sometimes it helps," said Hayes, former chief of the sex crimes division with the Brooklyn district attorney's office. "We call it trying an empty chair. The judge tells the jury, 'Don't speculate.'"

Luster, 39, was convicted in absentia of 86 counts, including multiple rape charges connected to assaults in 1996, 1997 and 2000. Police say he videotaped sexual romps with unconscious women after drugging them with the date rape drug gamma hydroxybutyrate, or GHB.

The great grandson of cosmetics giant Max Factor skipped town after his prospects at trial grew bleak: One victim had already testified about the alleged abuses, and the jury was about to view a videotape labeled "Shauna GHBing." He took with him his pet dog, later found at his mother's, and his Toyota 4-Runner, which was found last week.

Diamond, whose defense suggested Luster's victims were play-acting in the videos, says he has no idea where his client is. "He hasn't called but if he did, I would keep it confidential," said the lawyer. "My presumption is it's protected by attorney-client privilege."

Diamond plans to fight the conviction on a number of fronts. First up is the sentencing, scheduled for Feb. 18. Diamond says his client, who could recieve the equivalent of a life sentence, shouldn't be sentenced in absentia.

For Luster's appeal bid to take off, he'll have to turn himself in to the authorities. In California, a fugitive is not allowed to appeal a conviction. If he's not back within 60 days of his sentencing, he will lose the right to appeal.

But many are hoping to see him back behind bars much sooner. California police and even the FBI have been involved in a national search for the fugitive. Also hunting Luster is Duane "Dog" Chapman, a Honolulu-based bounty hunter who boasts more than 6,000 captures.

Chapman now says that Luster's mother is the key to reeling him in. He plans to scout Elizabeth Luster's properties for her son. Elizabeth Luster did not return calls to her Sonoma, Calif., home.



Duane "Dog" Chapman


Chapman and Luster's attorney have sparred, in part over Chapman's motivation for hunting Luster.

But Chapman, who has sent mugshots of Luster as far as Bali and plans to scour the coast for the fugitive, insists he's not a media hound (no pun intended) and is not hunting Luster to get rich.

"I'm a bounty hunter, this is the number one fugitive in America, and I'm on his ass," he said. "This one has become personal. If one of the victims comes up to me and says, 'Dog, thank you,' that's it, I'm paid."

[Sherry]

www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,90209,00.html
Exclusive Phone Interview with Bounty Hunter Duane 'Dog' Chapman
Monday, June 23, 2003

This is a partial transcript of The Big Story With Rita Cosby, June 22, 2003, that has been edited for clarity.
Watch The Big Story with Rita Cosby Saturdays at 9 p.m. ET

[BEGIN PHONE CALL]

Duane 'Dog' Chapman called FNC's Rita Cosby from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico following his arrest by Mexican authorities.

RITA COSBY, HOST: Dog, are you on the phone there?

DUANE 'DOG' CHAPMAN, BOUNTY HUNTER: Yes I am Rita, how are you?

COSBY: Dog, it's great to hear from you. This is the first time any of us have heard from you since you got out of the prison. How are you doing? How are you feeling?

CHAPMAN: I'm doing fine. I'm feeling..está bueno.

COSBY: How are you doing? How are you holding up? I mean we're looking at pictures of you here. It looked like it was pretty tough there behind bars.

CHAPMAN: Oh it was very tough here behind bars, but I'm doing a lot better now.

COSBY: Tell me about what you're doing now. I understand that you've got an armed guard behind you or around you, at least watching you.

CHAPMAN: Correct, that's correct.

COSBY: And have authorities been treating you pretty well since you've been released?

CHAPMAN: You know, as far as the authorities go, you couldn't ask for anything better.

COSBY: Tell us about how you are spending your time there. I heard from your wife, she was saying last night to me that you were relieved to take a shower. How are you spending your time as you're waiting to see what happens with the charges… Are you worried at all? Are you concerned, Dog?

CHAPMAN: You know, I'm absolutely very nervous, correct.

COSBY: What would you like Americans to know about what you did? I mean you've got some critics, but a lot of people are also calling you a hero here in the United States. I mean after all, you got a convicted rapist behind bars.

CHAPMAN: Well you know, thank you for that. I'd like to thank everyone in America for their support. And that's why we're America. Some people like it, some people don't. I'm sure that, you know, you've got a little percent that don't. But I'd like to thank you so much. And you know, I don't know what a hero feels like yet, so I know that I consider myself the greatest bounty hunter in the world and now I do have the title. But you know, one thing that I have learned is that it's a little bit more important to be at home and be in love than be famous, Rita. I would trade it all to be with my family right now.

COSBY: I know Andrew Luster was in the same jail as you. In fact, Dog, some of the pictures were incredible, seeing him getting loaded into the same truck as you by Mexican authorities. You were sitting right across from each other. Did he say anything to you during that time, after you finally caught him?

CHAPMAN: Oh yes, we had a long, extensive conversation.

COSBY: And what did he say? Give us sort of a little insight if you could.

CHAPMAN: Well some of the stuff he said to me Rita, I'd have to wait, you'd have to bleep it out. But I'll tell you when I get home.

COSBY: What's the gist? I mean, obviously, he was swearing at you. Your wife also said to me last night that when he was being led out, when he was being brought back to the United States, he actually spit at you.

CHAPMAN: Yes, and he said, "I've got a list, and you're on top of it"… he was not very happy.

COSBY: How did it feel also, Dog, to finally get this guy? You've worked so hard. You and I have been talking for the last few months. You were on my show. And you said to me, "I'm going to get him in a week." Then a few days after our show, you got that tip, which I'm thrilled that one of our viewers called in to you and also the FBI. How does it feel that you actually got a man who's on the top ten list from the FBI? How'd that feel?

CHAPMAN: Well, it kind of felt like when I was a little boy and I asked my dad for a motorcycle and when I woke up, it was parked out in the front yard. It was one of the greatest feelings I've ever had in my life.

COSBY: What type of man do you think Andrew Luster is? Now that you've also seen him face to face?

CHAPMAN: Rita, the eyes tell it all, as they say. He is an absolute serial rapist.

COSBY: You talk about being on his list too. We understand in the diary that was found, that one of the newspapers is reporting, you're name's in there too, also in [Andrew Luster's] “payback” list. How do you feel about that?

CHAPMAN: Well I told him "Andrew, I think you're gonna have to stand in line."

COSBY: Do you think that there's going to be a lot of people who are going to want to pay him back, huh?

CHAPMAN: Well, that's up to the prisoners in whatever prison he's in, but I'm getting the news like you are, off of the television here so it's just incredible. There is a lot of other stuff they found in there. It's just.. this guy was not stopping… when I first told you, you asked me, "Dog, how are you gonna catch him?" and I was banking on the old cliché where a leopard doesn't change his stripes… he got worse and worse. There's things, that it will probably come out slowly here… I mean this guy absolutely was a rapist. Now, it looks like he continued it. And you know, the guy is a serial rapist.

COSBY: We're hearing Dog, that in the place that he was living there, that there's a video phone or a videotape recording also some more of the date-rape drug… clearly based on this diary too, it sounds like he was planning more things, maybe in Mexico.

CHAPMAN: Yeah, we had had reports down here that he had some specific lines that he was using and that he was picking up some of the local girls. And you know, yes he was.. we had a couple girls that told us stories…

[END OF PHONE CALL]

[Sherry]

www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,90214,00.html

Bounty Hunter's Wife Describes Andrew Luster Capture

Monday, June 23, 2003

This is a partial transcript of The Big Story With Rita Cosby, June 21, 2003, that has been edited for clarity. Click here to order the complete transcript.

Watch The Big Story with Rita Cosby Saturdays at 9 p.m. ET

RITA COSBY, HOST: It was only two weeks ago tonight that bounty hunter Duane "Dog" (search) Chapman appeared on this program vowing to find and apprehend convicted rapist Andrew Luster.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DUANE "DOG" CHAPMAN, BOUNTY HUNTER: Run Luster run, you know, I want to say to you right now, Andrew Luster, fe fi fo fum, look out Luster here I come, because I'm going to get you. Andrew, no matter what you do, I'm going to get you.

COSBY: It's my understanding you may be, what, a week away, is that accurate?

CHAPMAN: Well, I've got someone, you know, one of my spies looking right now. I got my passport. I'm ready to jump on a plane. My phone is on. My pager is on. It could be within a week, yes.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSBY: Also watching the show that night was a couple who had just returned from Mexico where they unknowingly partied with Andrew Luster (search), who told them his name was David Carrera. The couple immediately contacted the FBI and Dog Chapman.

By early Wednesday morning, Dog and his team were in Puerto Vallarta and they had their man but Mexican authorities also showed up and arrested everyone. Here, you can see Dog being placed in the back of a Mexican police pickup truck, and moments later Luster is placed right across from him.

After three days in the Mexican slammer, Dog was released only hours ago but he is now being closely guarded at an undisclosed location…

As the saying goes, behind every great man is a great woman and bounty hunter Duane "Dog" Chapman is no different. Joining us from Honolulu is his wife and very much his business partner Beth Smith…

COSBY: How is [your husband] doing? I know you spoke with him today.

BETH SMITH, DUANE CHAPMAN'S WIFE: He's very tired and is very worried. He's just exhausted. I think a lot of his worry and stress is coming from exhaustion and, you know, he's been trying to take care of all the other members of his team and trying to make sure moral is okay and making sure that everybody else is okay and their wives are okay, and I think that, you know, he's holding up pretty well but he needs some sleep very desperately.

COSBY: Where is he staying right now? I understand that he's sort of relieved that he got to take a shower finally.

SMITH: You know, Rita, it's an undisclosed location and I don't really know much more than that.

COSBY: But still pretty much in the town of Puerto Vallarta somewhere right?

SMITH: Yes, absolutely.

COSBY: And I understand he's accompanied still by a Mexican guard, is that right?

SMITH: Yes, ma'am, he is. He's got guards outside his door. He feels that it's more for his protection that they're out there. He's very polite to everybody. They're very nice to him. You know, they're not acting like they're guarding him. They're just kind of keeping watch, hanging around, and he's perfectly fine with that.

COSBY: Is he concerned for his safety?

SMITH: Am I concerned for his safety?

COSBY: Yes, are you and is he?

SMITH: No. I don't think he is. I'm not concerned for his safety. I think the hardest part of this whole thing is over and I'm not concerned for his safety. They've treated him very, very well. They've been very respectful to all of them. They've treated him in a very dignified way, and I don't think they're concerned about being harmed in any way.

COSBY: Now, your husband is a tough guy. He's had some tough assignments and some amazing things in his track record in terms of seizures of other individuals prior to Luster but this has been tough. I mean, he's been in a Mexican prison. It's been tough the last few days, right?

SMITH: Oh, yes we're all pretty sleep-deprived. We've been keeping the candles burning pretty late, and I don't even really know what day it is. I assume it's Saturday because your show is on.

COSBY: That's absolutely right. I know when [your husband] was arrested and went in, he was actually in the same jail as Andrew Luster. Here he is capturing him finally. They're in the same jail. Andrew Luster walked by. What did he do on the way out?

SMITH: Well, [Luster] portrayed his normal despicable self and he spit in [my husband's] face on his way out the door.

COSBY: And he spit at your husband?

SMITH: Yes, spit right in his face. That's probably the only chance he'd ever get to spit in his face is when he's being restrained.

COSBY: And what did your husband do in response?

SMITH: He growled at him.

COSBY: His dog growl. When are you hoping to see your husband, Beth?

SMITH: Oh, I am hoping to get word throughout the weekend and I'll possibly be traveling down there if it looks like they're not going to be released. I'll be traveling down there by Monday…

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RALPH BOELTER, FBI SPECIAL AGENT: I think his actions are just beyond the bounds that I can condone. He's out there apprehending on his own, certainly, that's nothing we endorse in the FBI, a fugitive in another country to boot.

ROGER DIAMOND, ANDREW LUSTER'S LAWYER: The FBI has a problem because on the one hand they're embarrassed they didn't get him first. On the other hand, they're probably in a way indebted to the guy for doing it. So, that's a political question.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSBY: That was the FBI's take on “Dog” Chapman nabbing rapist, convicted rapist Andrew Luster, and also that was Luster's attorney Roger Diamond responding as well.

We contacted the FBI by the way. We've been trying to call them for the last few days. We were unable to get anyone to appear tonight or even give us a comment on this case.

We continue now, of course, to talk about this dramatic case, particularly with all the developments that happened today with word that “Dog” Chapman was sort of rearrested again and now is finally out on bail.

Let's bring in Beth Smith, his wife…

Beth, I want to first talk with you about Dog's appearance here on this show. He was here on the show on June 7. What happened after that?

SMITH: When we left your show, Rita, we split up. He went to Honolulu. I went to Denver. As I was stepping off a plane in Denver on Sunday afternoon, a young man who had rented a villa from the couple that [reported partying with Luster in Mexico] actually gave the tip.

He sent over photos. He said, “I think we've been partying with this guy. His name is not Andrew. His name is Dave. Let me send the photos over.” I said, “Listen. I'm just stepping off a plane. Give me just a few minutes,” and he ended up calling Dog.

They got all that worked out on Monday. I got the photos. That's when we got a call from the other two folks that said, “Hey, we partied with him too.” It was a collective effort by all of these folks…

COSBY: I understand it was after the interview I did with Dog they called. They were watching one of our rebroadcasts because the show goes on a couple times through the night and said, “Wait a minute. That Andrew Luster guy looks like David Carrera.”

SMITH: Absolutely. Those kids were paying attention and they were on their job, and they called the bounty hunter and did the right thing.

COSBY: So then, Beth, I understand he did a lot of tracking down. I mean he had phone records. He had voice prints. He had hand prints. And then when he got the word, he got the confirmation that this guy was down there based on these photos that was a clear match apparently.

This is pretty interesting. I understand that he, your husband, wore a Rastafari wig and he also wore Bermuda shorts.

SMITH: Yes, ma'am.

COSBY: And blended in down there.

SMITH: Yes. Yes, Rita, he did. He was on vacation. He was just cruising with the homies.

COSBY: And when he finally saw Luster, did he use any mace? There have been some reports about that Beth.

SMITH: I don't know any of that, Rita. I won't know that until he comes home and can tell me what happened.

COSBY: Tell us what happened though. I understand [Chapman's son] Leland walked by Luster at the bar.

SMITH: I think that Leland was kind of wandering around throughout these hotels and throughout these bars and Leland did spot him and thought it was him. He called his dad and said, “I think it's him, dad. You should come out and look,” and so they did.

COSBY: And, Beth, the original plan when you got the call was to call the FBI, which you did, right?

SMITH: Absolutely and I, Rita, had the same trouble that you and your staff are having.

COSBY: They didn't return the calls.

SMITH: They don't return calls. It was the middle of the night. I was using pagers, Nextel phones. I was leaving messages at the main FBI number. It was a little bit chaotic, and by the time someone was able to call back, you know, it was all done. They were all in jail…

COSBY: Beth, do you think your husband is a hero because a lot of people are saying he shouldn't even be there in Mexico behind bars? I understand you also talked to one of the victims who cried when you told her the news that Luster was captured.

SMITH: You know, I am so proud of my husband. I can't believe that he caught him. I'm still in awe. You know, he told me for six months, “Don't worry, I'm going to get him. I'm going to get him. Nothing negative, only positive, we're going to catch him.”

And every time he talked to these victims he got off the phone more and more dedicated to capture him and to stop this little reign of terror that he was on. I'm absolutely proud of him. I absolutely think he's a hero. And, you know, the people that are talking bad, they're entitled to their opinion…

Click here to order the complete transcript!

[Sherry]

Posted 7/3/2003 9:27 AM Updated 7/3/2003 10:00 AM
www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2003-07-03-bounty-hunter-back_x.htm
Bounty hunter says he expects exoneration
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) — The American bounty hunter facing charges in Mexico for capturing fugitive rapist Andrew Luster said Wednesday that he expects to be exonerated.

Duane "Dog" Chapman, and his half-brother Tim, right, depart a news conference Wednesday at the Four Seasons hotel in Los Angeles.
By Ric Francis, AP

"I'm sure the Mexican authorities will decide this to go my way," said Duane "Dog" Chapman, who called a press conference at Beverly Hills' Four Seasons Hotel after his return to the United States.

"Many of the people in Mexico came up to me and thanked me and said, 'My daughters, my wives are safer because of you, El Perro, and your family,'" Chapman said tearfully, using the Spanish translation of his nickname.

On June 18, the Hawaii-based bounty hunter and companions found Luster in the Mexican resort of Puerto Vallarta and seized him. Residents alarmed by the commotion called local authorities who took all of them into custody. Chapman said Luster spit on the bounty hunters while they were in custody.

Luster was quickly deported and imprisoned in California, where he had been convicted in absentia of drugging and raping women in his Ventura County home. The great-grandson of cosmetics legend Max Factor had jumped his $1 million bail during a January break in his trial and vanished.

The 2nd District Court of Appeals in Ventura ruled Wednesday that Luster has no right to appeal his guilty verdicts because he flouted the law by fleeing the country during his trial.

"By his flight to a foreign country, the inference is compelling that but for his capture he would be a fugitive to this day. That he is now serving his prison sentence and is once again subject to the court's power does not, standing alone, provide a compelling reason for reinstatement," according to the ruling written by Justice Kenneth Yegan.

Mexican authorities ultimately decided that Chapman, his son, Leland, and brother, Timothy, would be charged with "deprivation of liberty." Authorities briefly detained but did not charge two men who were along to videotape the capture. All five were released from custody on June 21.

Chapman told reporters that he feared Luster was preying on U.S. and Mexican women in Puerto Vallarta. He said his brother spotted Luster in a disco.

"My brother came and said, 'He's in the club right now and the flashing lights are on him and the girls are 17 years old walking around. He's like the troll on the bridge, rubbing his hands.' He said, 'He's looking at the prey,'" Chapman said.

The bounty hunter choked up as he described the decision to apprehend Luster.

"There's a song by Eminem that says 'Take the moment, it's your chance.' We had to protect everyone, we thought," he said.

Chapman said he intended to return to Mexico "soon." He said he never thought he was breaking Mexican law.

"We still don't think we broke the law," Chapman said.

Chapman's U.S. attorney, James Blancarte, said he did not expect his client would have to serve any more time in custody in Mexico. Chapman said his Mexican attorneys were "working on all legal issues."

Boris Krutonog, part of the video crew that taped the capture, said after the press conference that he did not know if there had been any discussion among the bounty hunters about the legality of apprehending Luster in Mexico.

"Dog always does the same thing. He picks up his guys and takes them to the police station. This was supposed to be no different," Krutonog said.

While Chapman would not answer a reporter's question about the black eye, the bounty hunter's entertainment lawyer, Les Abell, said his client told him it was "the cost of doing business."


starbulletin.com/2003/07/08/news/story8.html

Tuesday, July 8, 2003
‘Dog’ fails to
show in court
The bounty hunter says he fears
reprisals if he returns to Mexico

By Lorena Moguel
Associated Press
PUERTO VALLARTA, Mexico >> Hawaii-based bounty hunter Duane "Dog" Chapman and two others arrested in Mexico for capturing fugitive rapist Andrew Luster failed to show up in court yesterday, a judge said.

Speaking in this Pacific coast resort, Judge Jose de Jesus Pineda said he would give the three until today to explain their absence, then begin proceedings to forfeit their bail.

Chapman, who tracked down the cosmetics heir, said in a phone interview from Los Angeles that his understanding was that Pineda had not required him to return to Mexico.

Chapman, who worked with his son Leland and brother Timothy, said his attorneys told him they would meet with immigration officials yesterday and that he expected to be in touch with the attorneys soon.

"If every lawyer in America tells you, 'Don't go down there again, Dog,' what would you do?" said Chapman. He also said he believed he could be the victim of reprisals, whose nature he would not specify, if he returned to Mexico.

But Chapman said he would like to help Mexican authorities learn better law enforcement techniques, including improved methods of searching and cuffing suspects.

"I would like to help them with some of my skills," he said. "I already stepped up once," he said. "I got the guy." Migration officials were not immediately available to comment on the case.

Chapman spent yesterday in a Ventura, Calif., courtroom seeking a portion of the $1 million bail forfeited by Luster when he jumped bail in January.

"We would like 15 percent for the capture and expenses that we spent," Chapman told KABC-TV Los Angeles outside the courthouse.

Also making a claim for the money were Luster's mother, who claims to have posted the bail; one of the rape victims; and Ventura County officials who want to compensate the district attorney's office and Sheriff's Department for expenses incurred in the search for the rapist.

Judge Edward Brodie decided not to release any of the bail money. He ordered all the parties to bring additional evidence to another hearing set for Aug. 5.

Chapman and the other two Americans flew to California last week shortly after they were released from jail in Puerto Vallarta. During a news conference Wednesday in California, Chapman said he planned to return to Mexico "soon."

Pineda had previously told the Associated Press the three could do whatever they wanted with their free time -- as long as they checked in with him personally every Monday morning.

Pineda ordered the three last month to stand trial on charges of criminal association and deprivation of liberty for a pre-dawn seizure of Luster, the Max Factor heir convicted in absentia in California of drugging and raping three women.

[Sherry]

stacks.msnbc.com/news/949945.asp

‘The Abrams Report’ for Aug. 7

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Read the complete transcript to Thursday’s show

Guests: Duane Chapman, Gary Lozow, Craig Silverman, Jeralyn Merritt, Randy
Wyrick, Bruce Fein, Julian Epstein, Kimberly Guilfoyle-Newsom, Gretchen Von
Helms

DAN ABRAMS, HOST: Coming up, “The Dog” is in the house. Bounty hunter Duane “Dog” Chapman caught rapist and Max Factor heir Andrew Luster in Mexico, now a judge says he cannot get any of the money that Luster are put up as bond before he fled. Why not? “Dog” is here to tell us his story.
Plus, you’ve heard all the rumors about what happened between Kobe Bryant and his accuser. Tonight we separate fact from fiction.
The program about justice begins now.
(NEWS BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: Now, THE ABRAMS REPORT. Here’s Dan Abrams.
ABRAMS: Hi everyone. I’m back from Eagle, Colorado, and while I was out there I heard all sorts of rumors, most of them untrue about what happened between Kobe Bryant and the alleged victim. Tonight we separate truth from fiction.
Plus, remember this video? Kansas City coach attacked by this father and son team at a Chicago White Sox game last year. Well, a judge has just sentenced the father to probation, saying who can blame the fans when they see the players misbehaving? What kind of reasoning is that? We talked to the coach and he is none to pleased.
But first, remember Duane “The Dog” Chapman the self-proclaimed greatest bounty hunter in the world who captured fugitive rapist and Max Factor heir Andrew Luster in Mexico.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DUANE “DOG” CHAPMAN, BOUNTY HUNTER: There was no secret I wanted to catch Andrew Luster. He is now been proven not only an American rapist, but an international rapist. Many of the people of Mexico came up to me and thanked me and said my daughters and my wives are safer because of you (UNINTELLIGIBLE) and your family.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ABRAMS: Remember, Luster was convicted of drugging and raping three women, videotaping the attacks. He fled in the middle of his trial, was eventually convicted and sentenced to 124 years. But rather than offering “Dog” some level of appreciation for taking Luster down, the Mexican authorities locked him up along with Luster.
OK, the Mexicans say they have laws that make bounty hunting illegal. But get this. Back in California this week a judge ruled that “Dog” is not entitled to a penny of the $1 million in bail that Luster forfeited when he fled town. As our regular viewers know, I used to say, free “The Dog”, now I say it’s time to pay him. Without him a dangerous rapist who may have been preparing to act again might still be on the streets.
Tonight “The Dog” is in the house, joining us from Los Angeles, and he’s joined by his attorney, Gary Lozow. Thanks a lot for coming on the program. We appreciate it.
CHAPMAN: Thank you, sir.
ABRAMS: All right, “Dog”, let me start with you. Tell me first how you became interested in Andrew Luster. I mean what led you to go on this trek to Mexico to try and catch this guy?
CHAPMAN: Well, my significant other, Beth, had read something in the “L.A. Times” about him having 87 counts of rape and that he was ready to flee. And soon as he fled, well then I knew it was my job to bring him back.
ABRAMS: And just for those who don’t really know the story that well, tell us exactly what happened when you caught up with him.
CHAPMAN: Well, we were on the way to the police department, to the police station with Andrew Luster in tow, and we got pulled over by the federales and arrested right there on the street.
ABRAMS: There had been a little-a ruckus, right, in terms of getting him into your car.
CHAPMAN: Well, we apprehended him and put him in the car to drive him to the local Mexican police department, and on the way there is when we got pulled over.
ABRAMS: I want to read you something that the judge said in this case in denying you any of the money, the fee of the money that Andrew Luster had forfeited.
Quote - “I cannot do vigilante justice. In my view, you violated state statutes and Mexican statutes, and therefore you are not entitled to any restitution.”
Your response?
CHAPMAN: I would like my lawyer to answer that.
ABRAMS: OK. All right. Mr. Lozow, take it away.
GARY LOZOW, ATTORNEY FOR DUANE CHAPMAN: Well, Mr. Abrams you have taken, you know, one statement of a rather lengthy hearing that the judge made. And Judge Brodie, who is a good judge in Ventura, California, a very unwieldy hearing I think because of the structure of the hearing, heard a lot of-no, heard no testimony, actually, from any of the participants in the process and listened, I think, a little too carefully to Mr. Luster’s attorney, Mr. Diamond, who was busy kind of making personal attacks against Mr. Chapman and the reason for that is because he didn’t want Mr. Chapman to have a share of this $1 million that Mr. Luster tried to say was his mother’s. By the way, that same court found, you know, that to not be the case, found generally that the $1 million actually belonged to Mr. Luster.
ABRAMS: Right. Now, that we know.
LOZOW: And in a very unusual kind of construct, there’s a set of statutes in...
ABRAMS: All right.
LOZOW: ... California that deal with the return of bond money and it’s a difficult process for a court to kind of adhere to in terms of all the rules and kind of some of the conditions.
ABRAMS: Now...
LOZOW: Good council in California never got the chance, I think, to argue Mr. Chapman’s position by way or putting on evidence or presenting evidence...
ABRAMS: All right...
LOZOW: ... we still think and hope that that issue may be resolved favorable.
ABRAMS: Mr. Chapman, let me ask you about Mexico. How did you-how were you allowed to leave and what is your status there as of right now?
CHAPMAN: How did I leave? Through the airports. My status...
ABRAMS: Did they let you leave-come on. Did they let you leave?
Did they allow you to leave? Did you sneak out? What happened?
CHAPMAN: Oh, I walked right out just like a normal person would. You can’t sneak out of there. I mean I didn’t swim over the Rio Grande or nothing. We went out like anyone else would. They said when we want you back, we’ll let you know.
ABRAMS: So it’s not true-you-I read one place that you skipped a hearing, that you may be sort of considered a fugitive there, not true?
CHAPMAN: No, that’s not true.
ABRAMS: Have you heard from Andrew Luster at all? I mean I remember reading about an e-mail that you had said that he had sent to you. Has he had any contact with you since he’s been back in an American prison?
CHAPMAN: No, I asked his lawyer, as a matter of fact, Roger Diamond, did Luster say anything for you to tell me? And he said, we didn’t even talk about you.
ABRAMS: Let me-look, I remember when this happened I initially thought that the FBI was trying to cover their butts a little bit here by sort of saying that you were out of control and this and that. They were saying oh, we were about to catch him, you know basically implying that you really did very little to help in the effort. Let me let you listen to what the FBI had to say about that. I want you to respond.
CHAPMAN: OK.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So I think that his actions are just beyond the bounds that I can condone. He’s out there apprehending on his own. Certainly, it’s not something we endorse in the FBI a fugitive in another country, to boot. So, no, we will not be acting on his behalf. We were not working in concert with him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ABRAMS: Do you think they were just embarrassed that you got there first?
CHAPMAN: Well I never-I’ve never heard that, but that guy is lying, because I was working with the FBI. So, whoever that guy is, is a liar or he just doesn’t know what his agents are doing.
ABRAMS: And why do you say-I mean he was basically saying-the
suggestion has been that you weren’t working with law enforcement, that the
” you know you were going to try and take him over the border. Your response?

CHAPMAN: No, we were not taking him over the border. We had local law enforcement with us and I was working with law enforcement in California and the FBI for three or four months on Luster. So like I say, I didn’t know that guy there. I didn’t ever hear the interview. I doubt if he even knows what his own agents are doing.
ABRAMS: Do you feel unappreciated for what you did?

[Sherry]

Continued...

CHAPMAN: You know, I feel disappointed and like-my feelings are hurt. Yes, I do.
ABRAMS: Why?
CHAPMAN: Well, you know, I took a rapist off the streets. He wasn’t only raping in America, but he was raping in Mexico. The judge, I think-you know I tried to tell myself if the judge would have, you know, given me the reward like the district attorney in the county said I could get, or let me rephrase that. When we called the district attorney in that county, told him of our plans, they said they would not object and they didn’t see anything that was not reasonable with the 15 percent.
So, I just felt bad that the judge used the word vigilante. He doesn’t know me. See, we’re not-we haven’t been to trial yet. We haven’t been convicted of nothing, yet that judge there, you know, what evidence has he got that he’s going on other than hearsay. Thirty days before this done, we went into court, he said “Dog” is the one that captured him, “Dog” is the one that did the work. Bring your bills, “Dog”, show us what you’ve spent and we’ll see you then.
All of a sudden 30 days later, who got to that judge? How come that judge completely turned coat on the evidence? He hasn’t seen the tapes that we filmed during the capture. He doesn’t know that we had a police officer with us. How does he know what was wrong and what was right?
ABRAMS: “Dog”, if you could stand by, we are going to try and talk to you a little bit more about this. I’ve just put on sunglasses so you know, just so I can...
CHAPMAN: OK.
ABRAMS: ... look a little bit like you and say...
CHAPMAN: Thank you.
ABRAMS: ... I say, pay “The Dog”. All right.
CHAPMAN: Thank you.
ABRAMS: Stick around. Plus, fact from fiction about what happened inside Kobe Bryant’s hotel room. You’ve heard a lot of things. We’ll tell what you is true and what is not. Some of the rumors not for the faint of heart.
Only hours ago, the California Supreme Court weighed in on the California recall election. How will it affect Arnold in his bid for the job? This is the man who made the recall happen, pulls out because of Arnold, during a teary press conference. And, how does all this affect Gary Coleman’s bid for the job?
A drunken man and his son jump onto the field and attack a coach for no reason. Now a judge gives dad probation, blaming the culture of going to a baseball game. What?
At the end of the show, respond to your e-mails. The address, [e-mail].
More with “The Dog”.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ABRAMS: Coming up, we’ll talk to a lawyer who says that bounty hunter Duane “Dog” Chapman should not get paid for capturing Max Factor heir Andrew Luster. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHAPMAN: Oh. My god, that’s Andrew Luster. What a big guy, 6’3.” 245. Didn’t know he was that big, big man. The girls-he was-my brother came and said he’s in the club right now and the flashing lights are on him and the girls are 17 years old walking around, he’s like the troll on the bridge rubbing his hands. He said he’s looking at the prey.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ABRAMS: Bounty hunter, Duane “Dog” Chapman, talking about capturing Max Factor heir Andrew Luster in Mexico. Luster sentenced to 124 years in prison after he fled in the middle of his trial, accused of raping and drugging three women.
We’re joined by Duane “Dog” Chapman, his attorney Gary Lozow, and former prosecutor, Craig Silverman and defense attorney Jeralyn Merritt. All right, Craig, why don’t you agree with me that this was-look, this was money that Luster put up. Why should “Dog” not get the typical 15 percent or so of the money?
CRAIG SILVERMAN, FORMER PROSECUTOR: Well, first of all, nobody fetches fugitives like the “Dog”. It’s a real honor to be on with him. I remember when the “Dog”...
ABRAMS: All right, all right...
SILVERMAN: ... had his day in Denver and he was a shining star among bail bondsman here and he hasn’t lost any of his luster. He didn’t lose Andrew Luster, and I admire him for what he did.
CHAPMAN: Thank you.
SILVERMAN: Let’s face it, part of what he was doing was for the challenge of it and for the fun of it and for the fame that goes along with it. If he wanted the money the only thing I don’t admire is the legal work that was done here. There was no statutory right to the money, no contractual right to the money. He should have cut a deal with the government.
Do you remember (UNINTELLIGIBLE), the D.A. agent who was killed in Mexico? Bounty hunters were hired by the government to go down and capture the suspects in that case. That’s what the “Dog” should have done. He should have cut a deal with the government and then there wouldn’t be a dispute right now. Maybe he’s entitled to the money on a quantum merit basis. That means he did something for which he deserves money. He clearly did the government a great favor by his actions. I admire that, but Samuel Goldwyn said it first. A verbal contract is only as good as the paper it’s written on.
ABRAMS: Let me ask your lawyer. Mr. Lozow, you know, what of the argument that-the question that why should he necessarily be entitled to the money? Where does it say that you capture someone in Mexico, you’re entitled to 15 percent of the money.
LOZOW: Well, the custom in bail bond work or bounty hunter work is usually that a bounty hunter gets some percentage of the bond money involved.
ABRAMS: When you say custom, what does that mean? I mean I think a lot of people don’t know how this works. What do you mean by custom?
LOZOW: Well generally, there’s a bonding company that puts up (UNINTELLIGIBLE) when someone flees, they will pay some percentage to a bounty hunter to kind of pick up the person, the absconder, and bring him back to court...
(CROSSTALK)
LOZOW: ... so if the bond is $10,000, they...
ABRAMS: Right.
SILVERMAN: That’s when it’s insured...
LOZOW: Mr. Silverman...
(CROSSTALK)
LOZOW: ... I understand that Mr. Silverman. The question was is what is the custom? So, there are a few things you don’t know about and the custom with regard to the process is that that’s how a bounty hunter makes his money. In this case, what Mr. Chapman talked to the Ventura County authorities about and actually had discussions with district attorney was whether or not, if he was successful if capturing a fugitive that other people were having many problems capturing, including the FBI, would he be entitled to some customary return for his efforts?
ABRAMS: So they promised him...
LOZOW: The problem...
ABRAMS: ... they promised him some compensation?
LOZOW: No, no, no, no. What they did is that they championed his effort. They were in receipt of the information that he had about tracking him...
ABRAMS: Right.
LOZOW: ... and they were very positive about his effort to track down Mr. Luster because he had the ability, the energy, and the commitment to do that...
ABRAMS: So...
LOZOW: ... much more quickly and expeditiously than the FBI...
ABRAMS: Let me ask-Craig, so what if there was a sort of tacit agreement here. What if they knew basically what he was up to? Look, he had gone on television announcing the fact that he was going to go find this guy.
SILVERMAN: Why not turn that into a written agreement? That’s what they did in the (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...
ABRAMS: But they didn’t. But they-so they didn’t...
SILVERMAN: Right and that’s the...
ABRAMS: ... so therefore what?
SILVERMAN: I admire the heck out of what “Dog” did. It’s just the legal work that’s lacking. He should have dotted the “I’s” and crossed the “T’s”. He gets the fun and the fame out of it. I wish he would have had a contract so he could get some of the money.
ABRAMS: Jeralyn Merritt, you want to weigh in on this?
JERALYN MERRITT, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Dan he-sure, he didn’t need a contract. You have to look at the equities of the situation. Here you have “Dog” Chapman, who is going after Luster, who communicates this to the FBI. He communicates it to the sheriff’s office. They encourage him to keep going with his efforts and they indicate to him that hopefully, they don’t promise, but hopefully he’ll be rewarded. The equities in this case are that “Dog” Chapman should benefit...
(CROSSTALK)
MERRITT: ... that’s just the equity...
ABRAMS: I agree with you.
MERRITT: ... and that’s what would be fair.
ABRAMS: All right. “Dog”...
(CROSSTALK)
LOZOW: ... can I tell you one other thing Mr. Abrams? One other thing...
ABRAMS: Very, very, very quickly, yes...
LOZOW: The statute in California actually has that (UNINTELLIGIBLE) to it.
ABRAMS: OK.
LOZOW: The statute in California under which we moved has an equity...
ABRAMS: All right. Fair enough. All right. “Dog”, final words for Andrew Luster. He’s now behind bars. What do you think of him?
CHAPMAN: You know, I am not his judge or his jury. I was the man that picked him up. Good luck, Andrew.
ABRAMS: Duane “Dog” Chapman, Gary Lozow, thanks a lot. We appreciate it. And Craig Silverman, thanks to you as well.
CHAPMAN: Thank you.

[Sherry]

stacks.msnbc.com/news/951888.asp
‘The Abrams Report’ for Aug. 12

Read the complete transcript to Tuesday’s show

Guests: Beth Smith, Kimberly Guilfoyle-Newsom, Geoffrey Fieger, Chief Dave
Kurz, Philip Villaume, Mark Smith, John Rosenberg

DAN ABRAMS, HOST: Coming up, he captured one of America’s most wanted, now Mexican authorities are after him. An all-points bulletin has been issued for bounty hunter Duane “Dog” Chapman. His wife joins us live.
And it seems that Fox News Channel can’t take a joke, suing comedian Al Franken over his new book.
The program about justice begins after the headlines.

(NEWS BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: Now, THE ABRAMS REPORT. Here’s Dan Abrams.
ABRAMS: Hi, everyone. Just a short time ago Mexican authorities issued an all-points bulletin for the man who says he’s the greatest bounty hunter in the world. Coming up, an exclusive interview with the wife of Duane “Dog” Chapman responding to these latest developments.
Also ahead, the feds foil apparently a plot to smuggle missiles into the U.S. Coming up, we’ll have details of the bust.
Plus, Al Franken is a left leaning comedian, exactly the type of guy you might see blasted on Fox News Channel, but now they’re saying they’re concerned people may think Franken is part of the Fox team, because of a book he wrote mocking Fox. Fox is suing.
And someone is breaking into college dorm rooms cutting the clothes off of girls while they sleep. Now the hunt is on for “Jack the Snipper” before someone gets hurt.
We begin tonight with some late-breaking details regarding America’s best-known bounty hunter Duane “Dog” Chapman. It now seems the dogcatchers are out and looking to put the colorful bounty hunter back in the pound south of the border. We’ve just learned that Mexican law enforcement officials have issued an all-points bulletin for Chapman, his son Leland, and his brother Tim for leaving the country while awaiting trial for charges connected with the capture of convicted rapist and Max Factor heir Andrew Luster.
Last week on this program, I asked “Dog” how he was able to leave Mexico.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOICE OF DUANE “DOG” CHAPMAN, BOUNTY HUNTER: Well, I walked right out, just like a normal person would. You can’t sneak out of there. I mean I didn’t swim over the Rio Grande or nothing. We went out like anyone else would. They said when we want you back, we’ll let you know.
ABRAMS: So it’s not true-did someone-I read one place that you skipped a hearing, that you may be considered sort of a fugitive there, not true?
CHAPMAN: No, that’s not true.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ABRAMS: Well, he may not be aware of it, but the Mexican authorities are actually asking the international law enforcement agency, Interpol to bring Chapman back to Mexico to stand trial.
“Dog’s” wife, Beth Smith, joins us on the phone for an exclusive interview to talk about this late breaking development. Thanks again for coming back on the program. We appreciate it.
BETH SMITH, DUANE “DOG” CHAPMAN’S WIFE (via phone): Thank you, Dan.
ABRAMS: All right. So what do we make of this?
SMITH: Oh, it’s absurd.
ABRAMS: I mean did you know that he was considered a fugitive in Mexico?
SMITH: No and he’s still not considered a fugitive in Mexico, Dan. The problem with this is that they have issued a request to the government to ask for this immigration, this-you know, this locator service to locate them. It’s merely a request.
ABRAMS: I have to tell you, from what I read it seems like more than that. I mean...
SMITH: I know that’s what you read...
ABRAMS: Yes...
SMITH: ... but that’s the problem with a lot of these reports...
ABRAMS: Well...
SMITH: ... Associated Press and the people that are coming out of Mexico are not quite reporting what the actual facts are.
ABRAMS: Well, I mean here’s the thing. I mean and you know I’ve been a big supporter of “Dog” on this program...
SMITH: Sure.
ABRAMS: ... I’ve been saying for a long time that I think he’s been mistreated, under appreciated for what he did. Nevertheless, I have wondered how it was that the Mexican authorities were totally fine with him going to the United States. You heard him in the interview here. He said, look, I just walked out. Do you know more of the details of exactly the conversations he had with the Mexican authorities when he left?
SMITH: You know, as everybody is aware of, bail bond is a promise to appear and that’s what guarantees your appearance. There has been no request for Mr. Chapman to appear in any court in Mexico or anywhere else. Thereby, he can’t be in violation of a bail bond agreement when he hasn’t violated it. He hasn’t not shown up for any court appearance because no court appearance has been scheduled.
ABRAMS: Will he appear?
SMITH: Probably.
ABRAMS: So if they do, if they’re listening to the program right now and they say, all right, we need to be a little clearer then...
SMITH: If it’s set forth a correct court date...
ABRAMS: Right.
SMITH: ... like a normal court would do, then we would consider going back at that time, but I have to tell you, Dan, it’s pretty appalling that anybody would even ask these men to go back to Mexico on a misdemeanor petty offense. If you get a driving ticket in New Jersey and you live in Oregon, they clearly are not going to extradite you back to New Jersey for a traffic ticket. So how in the world would anybody extradite three men who took a serial rapist, who was wanted not just with state charges, but with federal charges, and I might add was convicted, which makes him an escaping prisoner, back to a third world country to stand charges for a petty offense?

[Sherry]

Continued....

ABRAMS: Yes.
SMITH: It’s simply appalling.
ABRAMS: I’d be surprised if the U.S. got involved in trying to force “Dog” to go back to Mexico, but why are you sort of equivocal about whether you’re saying you think he’d consider it, you think probably, why is there a question in your mind as to whether he’d return to Mexico, if there was a firm court date?
SMITH: Well, let me rephrase it, OK? In “Dog’s” opinion, he might go back. In my opinion, there would be absolutely no way. I would absolutely throw a fit. I would have a temper tantrum and I would cut him off for life until he, you know, he agreed that he wasn’t going back. But he is a very noble person. He is a person that stands for the law and, you know, regardless of, you know, the verbal bashing that has gone on with the media, “Dog” still believes that if he committed a crime, he should go back and discuss it, but there was no crime committed.
“Dog” had a law enforcement official with him. That is why all of these charges have gone from kidnapping to conspiracy to now this minor petty holding charge, which carries one month to four years maximum, which you can opt out to pay in cash. There’s no need for him to go back there. Every single lawyer in America, which we’ve spoken to at least 75 of them, every single person here in America has told “Dog”, you have done enough for this country, don’t you even think about going back there.
But in the same respect, when you have people that are, you know, as we said, verbally bashing him through the media, he wants to go back and just simply stand trial for it. If I thought that he could go back there, get a fair trial and walk out of there alive with my son and my brother-in-law, then there wouldn’t be any question.
(CROSSTALK)
SMITH: But this is a third world country that the only boost in their economy they ever got was “Dog” being in jail in their jail.
ABRAMS: Did your lawyer indicate to you that this was not an all-points bulletin basically asking for anyone to return him immediately to Mexico? I mean, is that where you’re getting the information...
SMITH: Yes in Mexico...
ABRAMS: ... from your lawyer? I mean, I’m just wondering who’s giving you the information that this is not as dire as we are reading and hearing.
SMITH: No. It’s a misdemeanor. You cannot extradite a person to another country on a misdemeanor.
ABRAMS: All right...
SMITH: You can’t even extradite state to state. As much as all these bail enforcement guys would love to have the authority to sort of scoop up the “Dog”, that is not going to happen. If anybody even tries to touch him or apprehend him at this point, then they themselves are going to break the law in America.
ABRAMS: Yes.
SMITH: He is not an international fugitive. He is not even a fugitive. They have asked for a local person to put in a request to have these things done. It is a request. That doesn’t even mean that the Mexico authorities are going to bite this-they’re not going to buy off this fight with the United States because some D.A. down in Holisco (ph) has a hard on for my husband.
ABRAMS: Well, well put.
SMITH: No pun intended.
ABRAMS: I don’t think there was any pun involved in that comment.
All right, Beth Smith, thanks very much for coming on the program.
SMITH: Thank you Dan.
ABRAMS: We appreciate it.
Well, OK. Kimberly Guilfoyle-Newsom, Geoffrey Fieger, she says it’s a request. Kimberly, what do we make of this?
KIMBERLY GUILFOYLE-NEWSOM, SAN FRANCISCO PROSECUTOR: Yes, well, I think she explained the issue really well and I think what we have here is an abuse of the process in the justice system down in Mexico requiring him to come back for, again, as she stated, a petty offense, a misdemeanor. It’s preposterous. He should have his attorney pay the fine and be done with it and not go back to Mexico.
ABRAMS: Geoffrey?
GEOFFREY FIEGER, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, I tend to agree with Mrs. “Dog”, but remember, this is the “Dog”. And he is interested in selling his story, and the story will be much more salable if he has to somehow put himself in a position of peril and go down and face misdemeanor charges in Mexico, because otherwise I’d tell him he was out of his mind to go down there.
ABRAMS: Yes. I mean look, what about the fact-I mean look, he was charged with a crime in Mexico. Everyone agrees to that.
(CROSSTALK)
ABRAMS: There is...
FIEGER: But it’s not a crime here, and that’s the thing, and we’re not getting along with President Fox right now. There’s not a chance he’d get extradited.
(CROSSTALK)
ABRAMS: That’s not exactly a good reason-see, I think the problem is, Kimberly, that the feds here are embarrassed by the fact that “Dog” went out and got this guy that they had been looking for so long.
(CROSSTALK)
GUILFOYLE-NEWSOM: Oh, yes, definitely left them with egg on their face, so to speak. I think you’re absolutely right about that. And I don’t think that he should go down there to be further victimized and have further abuses levied against him when, in fact, in this case I think he should be rewarded and appreciated for what he did, taking a rapist off the streets.
ABRAMS: Yes. All right. Look, I don’t know what to make of this. I haven’t seen the actual-I read the Associated Press report that made it seem like a really big deal. They’re asking for all these international law enforcement organizations to help find “Dog”. Sounds like they could just go to the restaurant where Beth and “Dog” are going to have dinner tonight.
FIEGER: You’ve got a long way to glorify bounty hunters. Up until this time, bounty hunters weren’t well thought of by law enforcement.
ABRAMS: But you know what? I don’t remember the last time a bounty hunter captured someone this dangerous who had already been convicted of a crime.
FIEGER: Probably it was Nick Adams in “Wanted Dead or Alive”...
ABRAMS: Yes.
FIEGER: Remember that TV show?
ABRAMS: All right.
FIEGER: Since then bounty hunters have been out of fashion...

[Sherry]

STATEMENT FROM A PROFESSIONAL BAIL ENFORCEMENT AGENT
REGARDING DUANE ‘DOG CHAPMAN

On June 18th 2003 Duane ‘Dog’ Chapman, accompanied by four others, located Andrew Luster in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico on information supplied by a tipster, not by any proficient investigative skills. Chapman’s posse consisted of a stepson, a brother-in-law, a cameraman and a Russian movie actor.


Andrew Luster had posted his own bail when it was lowered from ten million dollars to one million dollars. Consequently, the bail posting was not a surety bail thus no ‘bounty’. Mr. Chapman had absolutely no legal authority to pursue and kidnap Andrew Luster,


At a date uncertain in May 2003 the Luster case was transferred to FBI Special Agent Eric Jensen. Once Luster was located Chapman and his entourage could have kept him in sight and notified the FBI… either directly or via the US Embassy in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. But, no, not ‘Dog’ Chapman’s style. He needs to bluster his captured fugitive and be caught on film with all the hoopla and hype his violent and criminal mannerisms entails.


On July 3rd 2003 Duane Chapman surfaced in the United States in deliberate violation of the bail conditions set by the court in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico that he not leave the area and report to the court every Monday. When interviewed by CNN he stated he does not believe he broke any laws in Mexico. His statement to the press is yet another in a long string of blatant mistruths in an attempt to sway the focus of his illegal actions. Chapman is fully aware that bounty hunting in Mexico is illegal and always has been. Chapman also stated there was evidence that Andrew Luster was using a date rape drug on unsuspecting females in Mexico. This comment is merely another Chapman attempt to muddy the waters surrounding his illegal activities. According to the Mexican police no such evidence was found and no one has come forward.


On July 7th 2003 Duane ‘Dog’ Chapman failed to appear for his hearing in Mexico. An article in the Los Angeles Times on July 8th 2003 quotes Puerto Vallarta District Attorney Marco Roberto Juarez, “It’s a little ironic, no? They chase fugitives and then they become fugitives. With this, we’ve corroborated that these people have not demonstrated any respect for the laws.” Chapman, however, said he did not need to appear in court in Mexico, and that his attorneys, who could not be reached for comment, were handling the proceedings for him. It is common knowledge, even to Mr. Chapman, that only under extreme circumstances can attorneys appear for their client without the defendant being present.


The Los Angeles Times further stated: Judge Jose Jesus de Pineda, reached in his office at the Jalisco State penitentiary just outside central Puerto Vallarta, said Monday that if Duane ‘Dog’ Chapman did not appear in court by 4pm on July 7th, he would “proceed with what the law tells us must be done. It’s going to have its consequences, that’s evident, [his] attorneys know. They know the law,” Pineda said. Chapman did not appear consequently on July 8th 2003 the Mexican court issued a warrant for Chapman’s arrest.


The judge declined to elaborate on what Jalisco state law would prescribe as action for their absence, but prosecutors said bail would be forfeited and an order for the arrest of Chapman's group would be issued if they returned to Mexico. Prosecutor Juarez said the state might also request extradition for Chapman.


On July 3rd 2003 Beth Smith, Chapman’s alleged girlfriend, sent a letter to the Ventura California County Counsel under the heading of ‘Declaration of Alice E. Smith’. Her declaration states, in part, “I am a licensed bail bondsperson in Colorado and Hawaii with ability to write bail in any state.” Her comment of ‘with ability to write bail in any state’ is misleading in that it leads the reader to believe she is licensed in any state. She also wrote, On June 18th 2003, Mr. Chapman and his team moved in on Mr. Luster and effectuated his arrest.” Bounty hunting is illegal in Mexico therefore all Mr. Chapman and his posse did was effect the attempted kidnapping of Mr. Luster.


On July 11th 2003 Chapman appeared on the Catherine Crier show (Fox News) saying Andrew Luster was traveling with five bodyguards. This, too, has been adjudged as unfounded and to be yet another untrue comment on national television from Chapman. The more he appears on camera the more elaborate and contradictory the story he weaves.


At the time Chapman failed to appear in the Mexican court he was in a Ventura, California court trying to get $320,000.00 of the one million dollars in bail money posted by Andrew Luster claiming he needed the money to cover his expenses in the case. I ask: Can Dog Chapman legitimately itemize his expenses to support his claim of the money he allegedly spent in searching for Luster? It appeals to one’s common sense that $320,000.00 is an exorbitant amount of expenses in the five months he claims to have been actively searching for Andrew Luster but it does represent 15% of the bail money poster by Mr. Luster. Duane Chapman does not have any legal claim since there was no surety involved to contract with Mr. Chapman. He took it upon himself to take the law into his own hands. Chapman appeared on the Abrams Report and stated he was bringing Luster to the nearest police station yet he and his regulators were stopped and arrested on the way to the airport in the opposite direction of any police station.


On August 5th 2003 Ventura County Superior Court Judge Edward Brodie ruled that Duane Chapman is not entitled to any of the bail money. The Judge stated he does not condone “vigilante justice”. In his ruling, Brodie cited the pending case in Mexico and Chapman’s tactics, saying, “To come into this court and ask this court for my stamp of approval is another matter. He went to Mexico and failed to comply with the law I cannot condone vigilante justice.” Chapman then walked out of the courtroom while the Judge was still speaking. Not only an unprofessional act but also a childlike antic disrespecting to dignity of the Court.


Meanwhile, officials in Puerto Vallarta said on August 5th 2003 they have not given up on efforts to try Chapman, his son Leland and his brother Timothy on charges of depriving Luster of his liberty. “The case is still open,” Puerto Vallarta District Attorney Marco Roberto Juarez said.

[Sherry]

Continued...

A state court judge has issued an order for Chapman’s recapture. The Puerto Vallarta district attorney’s office sent paperwork to Mexico’s federal investigative agency seeking its help in finding Chapman and extraditing him back to Mexico so that he can face the charges there and stand trial.

Chapman was declared a fugitive in Mexico after he skipped his first required court appearance on July 7 during his trial there. He later said he crossed the border freely through Tijuana and had no reason to stay in Mexico.


Chapman claims to have made 6,000 plus fugitive arrests. It is absurd to believe anyone can accomplish such a tally given the timeframe and if one does the math it does not add up. He is also quoted as saying he was out catching up to four fugitives a day when he began to bounty hunt. Either Chapman is greatly exaggerating his numbers or the bail agencies have the worse underwriting skills imaginable… probably both.


Dog Chapman claims to have made most of his apprehensions in Colorado and California. The Colorado statutes are listed under Rev. Stat. § 12-7-105.5 and allow for convicted criminals to bounty hunt provided they have no convictions within the past fifteen-year period (the 15 year window is being addressed in the Colorado legislature for change so that no one with a felony conviction can bounty hunt). California requirements under their licensing procedures for bounty hunters are far stricter and include a provision that no one with a felony conviction can operate as a recovery agent in the State of California, [PC 1299.04(a)(1)-(5)]. Dog Chapman’s website boasts of captures in California. Additional California law requires completion of a 40-hour power of arrest course [PC 1299.04(a)(2)], completion of a minimum of 12 hours classroom education pursuant to IC 1810.7 [PC 1299.04(a)(3)] and completion of a training course in the exercise of the power to arrest pursuant to Section 7583.7 of Business and Professions Code [PC 1299.04(a)(4)]. Can Mr. Chapman prove he has completed any of the training requirements? In Chapman’s case, he operates more like a self-proclaimed vigilante. There are also restrictions in most states on the use of badges by bail enforcement agents to include Chapman’s preferred and outmoded label of ‘bounty hunter’.


Chapman’s illegal and violent apprehension of Andrew Luster has been much publicized by the media he loves to exploit. A very misinformed few claim he’s a hero but most claim, and rightly so, he is merely an out-of-control vigilante conducting a criminal enterprise who has placed yet another negated stigma on the bail enforcement profession. The focus of Luster’s capture is somewhat distorted knowing the apprehension was accomplished with the application of additional criminal acts on an international level causing another unfavorable light to shine on all professional bail enforcement agents.

The Court in Reese v. United States has made it clear what American bounty hunters may not do is pursue their quarry across international borders. An American bounty hunters ‘power of arrest can only be exercised within the territory of the United States.’ A case in point: In the early 1980s, Daniel Kear and a fellow bounty hunter tracked and found bail jumper Sidney Jaffe. Florida had charged Jaffe with several counts of land fraud. Jaffe fled to Canada and established a residence there. Daniel Kear and his colleague seized Jaffe then transported him to the United States.

In a United States court in Florida Jaffe was convicted and sentenced. Canadian officials, none too pleased, issued a warrant for Kear’s arrest. They also asked the U.S. government to extradite Kear so he could face a kidnapping trial in Canada for his seizure of Jaffe on their soil.

Under the United States-Canada treaty, a suspect may only be extradited for conduct illegal in both countries. Kear argued that he should not be extradited because his actions were not a crime under U.S. law, for a U.S. bounty hunter lawfully may seize his quarry where he finds him. The court hearing the extradition ruled Kear was wrong: a U.S. bounty hunter may lawfully seize his quarry where he finds him, as long as it is on United States soil. Kear’s argument ignored the significance of the international border. In chasing Jaffe to Canada, Kear infringed the sovereignty of a foreign power. In dragging him back to the U.S., he infringed on the authority of Canadian police and prosecutors.

In the end, Kear was extradited to Canada where he was convicted of kidnapping and was sentenced to serve 18 months in a Canadian prison. Fortunately for Chapman, since he did not transport Luster back to the United States, he probably could not face such charges.

The case against Daniel Kear is not unique. Although extradition historically has been rockier with our southern neighbor, overreaching American bounty hunters have been sent back to Mexico to face charges just as they have to Canada. That is what happened to an American named Villareal.

Villareal crossed into Mexico hoping to collect a $750 reward for the capture of a man who had defaulted on a bond and was wanted in Texas. When efforts to have the man lawfully deported failed, Villareal arranged for Mexican military officers to seize him in handcuffs and transport him to Texas. Upon learning of these events, Mexican authorities filed criminal charges and sought Villareal’s extradition. Over Villareal’s objection, a federal appeals court upheld the extradition, noting the vital importance of protecting friendly international relationships.

The tales of Kear and Villareal show that under U.S. law, bounty hunters who cross borders to ‘arrest’ suspects in foreign countries on U.S. charges, can be in serious jeopardy… facing penalties not only from the foreign country but also from an unsympathetic, extraditing U.S. government.


As regards Chapman’s alleged girlfriend… Beth Smith a/k/a Beth Barmore is actually Alice Elizabeth Barmore. She is facing the following charges in Colorado: 18-3-207(1)(A)(B)(I) Extortion-Unlawful Act F418-3-303, False Imprisonment M218-5-102 (1) (c), Forgery- Check/Commercial Instrument F518-3-207 (1)(a)(b)(l), Extortion-Unlawful Act-CSP F518-3-303 and False Imprisonment-CSP M3. A hearing on the charges is scheduled for October 28th 2003 at 8:30 am in Jefferson County District Courtroom 4D.


Duane ‘Dog’ Chapman is a prime example of what the bail industry in general is endeavoring to eliminate. The old west style of outlaw bounty hunter has long dissipated in the wake of nationwide legislation requiring licensing and training and excluding felons, especially felons like Mr. Chapman who carries an astonishing violent and lengthy criminal record. The ‘Dog’ Chapmans have been replaced with trained and adept professional bail enforcement agents who are responsible for approximately 40,000 fugitive arrests each year without incident and devoid of any liability.

Lance Allen Wilkinson

[Sherry]

www.dailynews.com/Stories/0,1413,200%257E20954%257E1463767,00.htmlArticle Published: Wednesday, June 18, 2003 - 8:19:47 PM PST
Fugitive heir caught
Convicted rapist found in Mexico by bounty hunter

By Grace Lee and Rachel Uranga
Staff Writers


Max Factor heir Andrew Luster's five months on the run ended early Wednesday in Mexico, where bounty hunters confronted him in the seaside resort town where he had been surfing and living the beach life he loved.

The 39-year-old great-grandson of movie makeup legend Max Factor had fled Ventura County on Jan. 3, before he was convicted of drugging, raping and videotaping three young women, and sentenced to 124 years in prison. He was arrested in Puerto Vallarta, where Hawaii-based bounty hunter Duane "Dog" Chapman and four assistants cornered him.

Mexican authorities said the bounty hunters followed Luster from the Motel Los Angeles, where he'd been staying, dragged him from the white Volkswagen Jetta he'd rented, sprayed him with Mace and handcuffed him.

The ruckus, caught on videotape by Chapman's crew, roused neighbors who called police, leading to the arrest of all six men as they were heading to the airport four miles outside town.

At the $35-a-night Motel Los Angeles, assistant manager Oscar Lopez said in a telephone interview that he found a video camera, videotape and rolls of film in Room 20, where Luster was registered as David Carrera -- who appeared to be an easy-going, well-educated man who was on vacation.

"He would go to the beach, with his surfboard and his shorts, every day," Lopez said. "He is my friend."

By midafternoon Wednesday, swarms of camera crews, reporters and police crowded the lobby of the motel, asking about the wealthy fugitive from Southern California who supported himself with trust fund money.

U.S. officials said the FBI was on Luster's trail and had expected to arrest him Wednesday but the bounty hunters acted first. It was unclear where Luster was hiding before arriving in Puerto Vallarta, where he had been for about a month.

He had been under house arrest, wearing an electronic monitoring device, when he fled his Mussel Shoals home, taking his summer clothes, his dog and his collection of Chumash art.

"If he was smarter, he would have gone somewhere more exotic, to a place without so many tourists," Ventura County Sheriff Bob Brooks said during an afternoon news conference in Ventura.

"But if he was smarter, he wouldn't have committed the crimes. He was in a place with tourists and a lot of young women. It's about what I would have expected of him."

Ralph Boelter, the Los Angeles FBI special agent in charge, said none of Luster's $1 million bail would go to the bounty hunters, although they are eligible to receive a $10,000 reward posted by federal and county authorities.

But Beth Smith, wife of the lead bounty hunter, said they expected to recover $150,000 to $200,000 for Luster's capture as well as an additional $75,000 in expenses.

She has retained two attorneys to represent her husband, her 25-year-old stepson Leland Chapman and her brother-in-law Tim Chapman, who were part of the operation.

Bounty hunting is illegal in Mexico and local authorities were considering filing kidnapping charges against Chapman and his crew.

Smith said the trio -- accompanied by two cameramen -- had combed all the hotels in Puerto Vallarta after receiving a tip and spotted Luster in the lobby of the Motel Los Angeles.

Boelter said the FBI got a tip about Luster's whereabouts June 10 from an American couple vacationing in Mexico, who had gotten their photograph taken with him. An agent assigned to Guadalajara was already on his way to Puerto Vallarta on Wednesday morning.

He said U.S. authorities would not help the bounty hunters gain their release from jail in Mexico.

"We want private citizens to be the eyes and ears of law enforcement, but not the hands," Boelter said.

Brooks said he did not know when Luster would return to Los Angeles -- he still faces deportation or extradition from Mexico -- but on his return, he could immediately begin serving his prison term.

Luster's attorney, Roger Jon Diamond, said if Luster had not been captured, he would have missed Friday's deadline for his final court appeal opportunity.

"For the purpose of an appeal, it was very good timing," Diamond said Wednesday.

After Luster's Jan. 21 sentencing on 86 of the 87 counts against him, Diamond continued to file appeals.

Diamond, who said he was surprised by Luster's capture, will not accompany Luster back from Mexico.

"Since he left, we've had no communication whatsoever," Diamond said. "I've had no idea where he was."

Barry Novack, who is representing one of Luster's victims, Shawna Doe, said his client was relieved that Luster will serve out his sentence.

Shawna Doe said that while Luster had the luxury of fleeing from his crimes, she would never be able to escape her own memories.

"She must live with the horror every minute of her life," Novack said.

[Sherry]

www.nctimes.net/news/2003/20030629/wwww.html

House of convicted rapist Andrew Luster slated for auction
VENTURA (AP) ---- Convicted rapist Andrew Luster's Mussel Shoals beach house will be auctioned off July 17 unless someone makes a mortgage payment.

CTC Real Estate Services holds the deed on the property and is hoping to collect the $550,412.92 owed on the home. Luster had a past-due bill of $11,480 as of March 24, according to a notice issued by the firm.

Luster, the great-grandson and heir of cosmetics magnate Max Factor, jumped his $1 million bail in January, shortly before a Ventura County jury convicted him in absentia of drugging and raping three women in the seaside home northwest of Los Angeles.

He was captured last week in Mexico is now back in California serving a 124-year sentence.

Luster or any relative or friend has until the day before the auction at the Ventura County Government Center to settle the account.

If the home is sold at auction, anything exceeding what is owed would transfer to the Luster family.

Barry Novack, an attorney for one of Luster's victims, said he will seek any assets that Luster may have in a civil suit set to begin on July 28.