Why did Dog the Bounty Hunter go to prison?
DUANE Lee Chapman – aka Dog the Bounty Hunter – has been arrested several times in his life.
Chapman – whose hunt for has hit the headlines – has even in .
Why did Dog the Bounty Hunter go to prison?
In 1976, was convicted of first-degree murder relating to the death of Jerry Oliver in Pampa, Texas.
As a young biker, Dog was waiting in a car when his friend accidentally shot and killed 69-year-old Oliver, an alleged pimp and drug dealer, while they were fighting over a cannabis deal.
Although Dog played no direct role in the murder, he was tried for the crime under Texas rules that anyone involved indirectly in a killing can be held responsible.
He was found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to five years behind bars in Texas State Penitentiary – a conviction which understandably turned his entire life upside down.
For instance, he is forbidden from ever owning a firearm, which is why he uses a taser when his colleagues brandish guns.
He was released after serving just a year and a half of his sentence and chose a career on the other side of the law.
was also arrested in when he was famously hunting Andrew Luster, who had escaped to Puerto Vallarta, after being charged with multiple sexual assaults using the date-rape drug GHB.
He tracked Luster down but was stopped at the US/Mexico border by Mexican authorities because bounty hunting is illegal in Mexico.
After being arrested in Mexico, Dog paid the bail to get out of Mexican prison for both himself and his crew.
However, they escaped Mexico for the US, making them fugitives themselves.
Why did Duane Chapman get involved in bounty hunting?
Chapman has been bent on doing the right thing ever since that conviction in 1976.
Dog wrote in his book, You Can Run but You Can’t Hide: “I have been misjudged, misinterpreted, and misunderstood for most of my life.
“I have spent the last twenty-seven years trying to be one of the good guys.
“In spite of those efforts to be seen as a moral man of virtue, I am still viewed as an ex-con, a criminal, a killer.
“I am many things, including those just mentioned. Put it all together and you will see: I am Dog.”
Chapman rose to fame in the A&E show Dog The Bounty Hunter, which documented his exploits chasing down bail jumpers. The show ran for eight seasons from 2004.
The former inmate said he wanted to be a bounty hunter while serving time in prison.
He prevented a prison break-out, tackling an inmate to the ground, saving the prisoner from being shot by guards.
Speaking with Fox News in 2007, the reality star said: “I did 18 months in prison. When I was in prison, I became the warden’s barber, so that means all the guards were my friends.”
He adds that one day a “guy went to break and run … and I jumped him and just — the guard[s] were going to shoot him in the back.
“And as the guard walked up when I was on top of the inmate apprehending him … he said, ‘Hook him up, bounty hunter’.”
It was from that moment Chapman realised he wanted to get into the business of busting criminals and where he was nicknamed the Bounty Hunter by prison wardens.
He eventually took up the role after a judge recommended he do it to pay off child support bills, according to .
Has Dog the Bounty Hunter made progress in his search for Brian Laundrie?
The TV star abruptly cut his hunt for short after , though his team have vowed to carry on.
In September 2021, Dog told that he was pursuing “thousands of tips” in the hope of finding .
He said: “I can’t tell you more, but we are getting leads every ten minutes.”
In October, he handed DNA evidence over to the FBI that will hopefully progress the search for Laundrie, who remains the only person of interest in ‘s death, the reported.
In an interview with Fox News’ Fox & Friends, Dog said his team surrendered materials they discovered at Fort Soto Park in .
Dog said: “Friday, we found a makeshift, a very primitive camp that had some promising things around it so we’ve gathered up all those things with gloves and baggies and turned them over yesterday to the FBI.”
On October 10, 2021, Dog said he’d found