HONOLULU - TV reality star Duane ''Dog'' Chapman and two co-stars on his show were arrested Thursday in Hawaii on charges of illegal detention and conspiracy in the bounty hunters' capture three years ago of a cosmetics company heir.

Chapman, son Leland Chapman and associate Timothy Chapman -- who is not related to the other Chapmans -- were taken into custody and did not resist arrest, said Mark Hanohano, U.S. Marshal for the district of Hawaii. ''It went down without incident,'' Hanohano said.

Mona K. Wood, a publicist for the star of the popular cable series Dog The Bounty Hunter, said Chapman would be vindicated. ''He arrests the bad guys -- and he is definitely not one of them,'' she said.

The charges stem from Chapman's capture of Max Factor heir Andrew Luster on June 18, 2003, in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, said Marshals spokeswoman Nikki Credic in Washington.

Chapman's capture of Luster, who had fled the country while on trial on charges he raped three women, catapulted the 53-year-old bounty hunter to fame and led to the reality series on A&E.

Chapman, shackled at his ankles and wearing a blue muscle T-shirt at his first court appearance Thursday, said the government was jealous of his success in hunting down criminals.

''You see what the American government is doing to us? They throw us in jail,'' Chapman said in a federal courtroom. ``I'm so upset about this.''

The three are being held in Honolulu. Bail has not been set. They will face an extradition hearing to Mexico under terms of treaties between the U.S. and Mexico, Credic said.

Chapman's son Leland, 29, and Timothy Chapman, 41, assist Chapman in exploits chronicled for the TV show around the Hawaiian Islands. The show focuses on Chapman's family as much as the bounty hunting, which generally involves tracking down bail jumpers, often creating emotional scenes with repentant captives.

Charges have been pending against the three since local police in Mexico arrested them shortly after they roped in Luster. They posted bail but never returned to Puerto Vallarta for their court hearing on July 15, 2003, Credic said.

Mexican authorities demanded that the Chapmans transfer Luster to Mexican police. Their refusal to do so led to their initial arrest.

A U.S. warrant for their arrest was signed by a federal judge in Honolulu on Wednesday.

Chapman's wife, Beth, said he didn't do anything wrong.

''If Duane has to return to Mexico to take care of any misunderstanding, then that's what he will do,'' she said outside the courthouse."

You want to know what I think? I think that the federal judge in Hawaii who complied with the corrupt Mexican governments request that the bounty hunter be detained pending an extradition hearing should be removed from the bench and deported to Mexico!

As always, I have included a link to write the United States Attorney General and ask that this federal judge in Hawaii be removed from the bench and deported to Mexico! I know it sounds crazy but so does this entire ordeal. I say the hell with the Mexican Government! It would only take a few minutes of your time to write the Attorney and send the message that this is an outrage! Here is the link, please click it and write. Do we really want all of the wanted sex offenders and  pedophiles to continue to think they are safe by fleeing to Mexico after they victimize our great citizens? I think not, so go ahead and send your thoughts on this to the Attorney General:

Click to email the Attorney General AskDOJ@usdoj.gov.

UPDATE: DOG RELEASED ON BAIL! MAYBE ALL THE EMAILS WE SENT DID HELP INFLUENCE SOMEONE!

Dog" Chapman released on bail

Bounty hunter posted $300,000 bond

Associated Press

TV reality star Duane "Dog" Chapman and two co-stars accused of illegal detention and conspiracy in the bounty hunters' capture of a cosmetics company heir in Mexico posted bail and were released Friday.

Chapman was released on $300,000 bail, while his co-stars on the popular A&E show "Dog The Bounty Hunter" were freed on $100,000 bail each.

Chapman, his son, Leland Chapman, and associate Timothy Chapman, no relation, were arrested Thursday on charges stemming from the capture of Max Factor heir Andrew Luster on June 18, 2003, in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, officials said.

Chapman's capture of Luster, who had fled the country during his trial on charges he raped three women, catapulted the 53-year-old bounty hunter to fame and led to the reality series on A&E. Luster is now serving a 124-year prison term.

Bounty hunting is considered a crime in Mexico, and charges have been pending against the three since local police in Mexico arrested them shortly after they roped in Luster. They posted bail but never returned for their court hearing in July 2003, officials said.

The men are now required to wear electronic monitoring devices until they return to court for extradition hearings to face trial in Mexico. The judge said they were not flight risks.

Reporters and fans packed the courtroom, and several supporters held signs outside the federal courthouse saying, "Let go our hero."

Chapman's son Leland, 29, and Timothy Chapman, 41, assist him in exploits chronicled for the TV show around the Hawaiian Islands. The show focuses on Chapman's family as much as the bounty hunting, which generally involves tracking down bail jumpers, often creating emotional scenes with repentant captives.

Dogs and American Pussies
By Malia Zimmerman, 9/15/2006 3:42:51 AM

The U.S. government is appeasing the Mexican government at the expense of three of its own reputable American citizens and their families -- even though the country hasn't been a good neighbor or done anything to stop drug trafficking, illegal immigration and other criminal activity brought by Mexican citizens across the American border.

The U.S. Office of International Affairs in Washington D.C. gave an order earlier this week for the arrest of the Bounty Hunter Duane "Dog" Chapman, 53, his son Leland Chapman, 29, and his brother Timothy Chapman, 41, with the intent of extraditing them to Mexico.

The trio are well known for their reality show on A&E, based on their work in Hawaii and the mainland as bounty hunters where they chase down and apprehend criminals who've violated the terms of their bail. They not only put on a popular entertaining show and promote law and order, but they run a compassionate and conservative operation through their business, Da Kine Bail Bonds. They pray during every television episode before they apprehend a suspect. They preach to the suspects about Jesus Christ, getting off of drugs, and turning their life around. And they even feature a picture of President George W. Bush in their shows.

Hawaii's head U.S. Marshall, Mark "Dutch" Hanohano, says the order for their arrest came from Washington D.C. The warrant was prepared Wednesday and executed by seven deputies without incident at 6:30 a.m. Thursday morning at the Chapmans' Hawaii Portlock home, Hanohano says.

The Chapmans made an appearance in Hawaii's federal court Thursday and will be back in court Friday.

The irony is they are being arrested for doing what American law enforcement failed to do.

The Chapmans went to Mexico in 2003 in hot pursuit of a serial rapist, who fled the United States after being convicted in a California court for three rapes. The target was the Max Factor heir Andrew Luster, who is now serving 104 years in prison in the United States as a result of their work. They apprehended Luster on June 18, 2003, and he was jailed the next day.

But rather than cheering the Chapmans for removing a convicted serial rapist from their country before he struck again, the Mexican government charged the Chapmans with illegal detention and conspiracy, throwing them in a cold, dark and dangerous Mexican prison for refusing to turn over Luster to them. Bounty hunting is illegal in Mexico.

The case -- and their treatment by the Mexican government -- launched them into the international spotlight, and eventually landed them the A&E gig, now the most popular series on the network for the past two years.

The Chapmans were supposed to appear at a court hearing there on July 15, 2003, but wisely never showed.

Now instead of defending three citizens who have collectively rounded up an estimated 6,000 bail jumpers and criminals in the last quarter of a century, through their offices on three Hawaiian islands, the U.S. government is willing to turn them over to what could essentially turn out to be their death sentence. Mexican prisons are not patrolled by the ACLU and prisoners don't have cable television, private cells, and three meals a day or the same rights as they would in America.

So the question is why? Why is the U.S. Office of International Affairs having them arrested and extradited? Why is that office throwing three of its most famous, do-good citizens to a lawless country run by thugs who will take cash over principal any day? At what political price are these government bureaucrats selling the Chapmans to a foreign government?

It is outrageous that the federal government is endangering the lives of these three men.

Hawaii law enforcement officers muttered something about an international treaty with Mexico, but the bottom line is the United States owes Mexico nothing except the return of its hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens and all the crack and cocaine smuggled from there to America's 50 states.

Chapman's publicist, Mona Wood, released a statement to the media on Thursday morning, saying her client will be vindicated. "This is obviously a very upsetting time for the Chapman family. Duane "Dog the Bounty Hunter" Chapman is a true modern-day hero. He arrests the bad guys -- he is definitely not one of them."

She's right -- he is a hero. Americans should rally, write their Congressman and the president, and demand freedom now for "Dog" and the other two Chapmans.

Congress should intervene on the Chapmans' behalf and open an investigation into the behavior of the heads of this so-called Office of International Affairs.

Whoever gave that arrest and extradition order should be fired and appropriately humiliated in the national and international press for making the American government appear hostile and unjust to its own citizens and unethical, and for embarrassing America on an international level.

The Chapmans deserve the thanks of all Americans -- including local and federal law enforcement -- for rounding up so many criminals who jumped their bail with no intention of serving jail time.

Just ask Andrew Lusters' three rape victims who can rest a little easier knowing their seemingly untouchable and untraceable attacker is behind bars for life.

The Chapmans made the streets safer. They should be rewarded -- not punished -- and they should be put back to work. There are, after all, still thousands of real criminals to catch.

Reach Malia Zimmerman, editor and president of Hawaii Reporter, via email at mailto:Malia@hawaiireporter.com

WANT TO WEIGH IN ON THE DOG SITUATION … HERE ARE SOME SUGGESTIONS OF WHO TO CONTACT

SUPPORT DOG THROUGH A LETTER TO HIS NETWORK, A&E BY LOGGING ONTO THIS WEB SITE

http://www.aetv.com/ (click on Contact us button and submit a comment)

SEND A MESSAGE TO HIS PUBLICIST SO SHE CAN PASS IT ON TO THE CHAPMANS

Mona Wood, IKAIKA Communications, mailto: ikaikacomm@hawaii.rr.com

EMAIL OR FAX PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH

President George Bush The White House Washington, D.C. 20500 Phone: (202) 456-1414 Fax: (202) 456-2461 mailto:president@whitehouse.gov

Web Site: http://www.whitehouse.gov

EMAIL YOUR CONGRESSMEN IN THE U.S. HOUSE AND U.S. SENATE BY CLICKING ON THIS WEB SITE

http://www.congress.org/congressorg/directory/congdir.tt

EMAIL OR FAX THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Alberto Gonzales -- Attorney General Paul McNulty -- Acting Deputy Attorney General Robert McCallum -- Associate Attorney General

C/0

Department of Justice 950 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W. Washington, DC 20530 Phone: (202) 514-2000 Fax: (202) 307-6777 mailto:askdoj@usdoj.gov Web Site: http://www.usdoj.gov

EMAIL OR FAX THE US MARSHALL SERVICE

John Clark, Director United States Marshals Service Washington, DC 20530 Phone: (202) 307-9000 Fax: (202) 307-9177 mailto:us.marshals@usdoj.gov Web Site: http://www.usdoj.gov/marshals