Celebrity with local ties faces jail in Mexico

Wednesday, September 27, 2006
BY ROYCE ARMSTRONG
LUCEDALE -- An A&E TV celebrity with ties to the Gulf Coast may be facing four years in a Mexican prison.
Timothy Charles Chapman, 41, was arrested on Sept. 14 at his home in Hawaii and charged with illegal detention, according to his mother, Dianne Carpenter, of Lucedale. Arrested with Chapman were Duane "Dog" Chapman and Leland Chapman, his co-stars in A&E's reality TV program "Dog the Bounty Hunter".
"I am concerned about my son spending time in a Mexican prison," Carpenter said during a phone interview Tuesday from Hawaii. "It is not like in this country. There is no such thing as protective custody or solitary confinement. There are no cells. Everyone is put into what is basically a big pen with high walls around it. Each prisoner makes his own place in whatever corner he can find. There are payoffs for safety and even then safety cannot be assured."
Duane "Dog" Chapman is the central figure of the program. Duane Chapman's son, Leland, co-stars along with Timothy Chapman. Although sharing the same name, Timothy Chapman is not related to Duane and Leland.
Timothy Chapman is a third generation bail bondsman and bounty hunter. His maternal grandparents were in the bonding business. Later, his mother began arranging bonds in Colorado. Tim learned from her and began arranging bonds when he was 13, she said.
"He made his first capture when he was 15," Carpenter said. "We were driving down the street and we noticed a fugitive who had skipped out on his bail. Before I could stop the car Tim had already jumped out with a pair of handcuffs, had him down on the sidewalk and had the cuffs on him.'"
Timothy Chapman has been in the bonding and bounty hunting business ever since. He currently owns and operates Island Bail Bonds in Hawaii. Duane "Dog" Chapman and his son operate Da Kine Bail Bonds.
The trio was catapulted to fame after their June 18, 2003, capture of Max Factor heir, Andrew Luster, in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Luster was convicted on three counts of rape in absentia after skipping out on his $1 million bond. The Chapman's, who had worked together for more than two decades, captured him.
"They caught him when federal authorities couldn't find him," Carpenter. "They (the FBI) were embarrassed.
"It is all about money," Carpenter said. "They (Chapman and his partners) did everything right. They notified the authorities and paid a Mexican police officer to go with them when they made the capture. It was that same police officer that participated in the road block that stopped them on their way to the airport. He then claimed he didn't know anything about it."
The Mexican authorities then seized Luster and arrested the three bounty hunters. The Mexican police turned Luster over to U.S. authorities.
A search of Luster's room after the arrest turned up plans for payback against many of the participants in his trial. Luster is serving a 124-year prison term.
Carpenter wonders why, 38 months later, the Mexican government has decided to pursue this case when the charges will expire at the end of October.
The arrest order, issued Sept. 13, lists the charges as illegal detention of Andrew Luster and conspiracy.
Duane Chapman has said that he believes a deal has been reached between the U.S. and Mexican governments to trade him and his partners for Mexican drug dealers wanted by U.S. authorities.
"I cannot say if I believe that or not," Carpenter said. "I think this case is too visible. Fans are flooding Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's office with complaints about this case. I understand a demonstration to be held in Washington, D.C., is being planned."
The Associated Press reported Sept. 22 that Duane Chapman offered to apologize, pay a fine, forfeit the $1,300 bail he paid in Mexico and make a charitable contribution in order to avoid extradition.
Carpenter said her parents retired and moved to Biloxi. She moved to Mississippi after her husband passed away in 1998.
"I worked for a local bonding company," Carpenter said. "This business gets into your blood. I started A Sunshine Bail Bonds in Pascagoula in 2003. Tim's older brother, Russell, came to Mississippi to help me. He had been part of the team in Hawaii, but he decided to stay in Mississippi.
Carpenter is currently in Hawaii providing moral support for her son and helping him sort through this legal mess.
"This really makes me appreciate our own legal system," she said. "In the U.S. everyone is entitled to bond while you wait for trial unless you have committed a capital crime. The law here assumes innocence until proven guilty. That is not so in Mexico. There you are assumed to be guilty unless you can prove you are innocent. If they are extradited, they may not be able to get out on bond before the trial.
Reporter Royce Armstrong can be reached at rarmstrong@themississippipress.com or (601) 766-9624