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Fugitive Millionaire Rapist Captured in Mexico

Aired June 19, 2003 - 10:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


HEIDI COLLINS, ANCHOR: Fugitive millionaire Andrew Luster is expected to return to the states soon to face prison time for a rape conviction. The Max Factor heir was nabbed in Mexico after five months on the run.
But in a strange twist, the bounty hunter who captured Luster is also in jail now. CNN's Charles Feldman is following the case for us in L.A. this morning.

Good morning to you, Charles. Kind of a complicated case, I'm sure.

CHARLES FELDMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, good morning, Heidi. Yes, it sure is. And strange the way it went down.

Andrew Luster was, of course, on the lam for months after being convicted of raping and drugging three women here in California.

And what happened was some tourists thought they saw him in Mexico. They notified the FBI and the bounty hunter. Both the FBI and the bounty hunter were after him. But it turns out that the bounty hunter -- and we're going to show you a picture of him now. A guy by the name of Dwayne Dog -- that's D-O-G --Chapman from Hawaii, Dog Chapman ended up getting -- there he is now -- getting to Luster first.

But a melee broke out. The Mexican police had to come along and now Chapman is not in the dog house, but he is in a Mexican jail because the Mexican government doesn't look kindly on bounty hunters. And, in fact, neither does the FBI. The FBI clearly disapproving of what the Dog did.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RALPH BOELTER, FBI: I think his actions are just beyond the bounds that I can condone. He's out there apprehending, on his own -- certainly, that'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.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FELDMAN: so Heidi, here's what happens now. Old Dog Chapman is going to sit in the Mexican jail until he goes before a Mexican judge. And the judge in Mexico will decide if he broke any laws down there and if so, what happens next.

As for Andrew Luster, he, too, will have to go before a judge in Mexico. And then, it is believed, will be sent back to the United States, where he faces a 124-year prison term, which means, quite simply, life behind bars -- Heidi.

COLLINS: It does, indeed. Charles Feldman, thanks so much for the update on that.

And we want to let you know, Luster's attorney says he's already appealing his client's conviction on charges of drugging and raping three women. In an appearance last night on CNN, our Anderson Cooper asked the lawyer about the details of the case.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON COOPER, ANCHOR: There were all these reports came out in the trial of using GHB, women who were drugged, videotaped women who appeared to be unconscious while they were having sex.

ROGER DIAMOND, ANDREW LUSTER'S ATTORNEY: Well, there were only tapes of two of the three women. With respect to those two women we believe there are a number of defense to the charges.

One, that they consented to this because they knew Andrew. This was not a case that they were strangers. These were all friends of Andrew's. They all took drugs together. This was a mutually enjoyable experience for them. This is what they did. This was part of their lifestyle. So that was one of the defenses we had.

We had a number of other theories that we were going on. Unfortunately, by Andrew's leaving the trial in the midstream, I was not able to fully develop the defenses.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: One of Luster's victims says she was thrilled to hear of his arrest and she's now waiting for him to return to the states and begin serving, as we mentioned earlier, his 124-year sentence.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired June 19, 2003 - 10:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, ANCHOR: Fugitive millionaire Andrew Luster is expected to return to the states soon to face prison time for a rape conviction. The Max Factor heir was nabbed in Mexico after five months on the run.
But in a strange twist, the bounty hunter who captured Luster is also in jail now. CNN's Charles Feldman is following the case for us in L.A. this morning.

Good morning to you, Charles. Kind of a complicated case, I'm sure.

CHARLES FELDMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, good morning, Heidi. Yes, it sure is. And strange the way it went down.

Andrew Luster was, of course, on the lam for months after being convicted of raping and drugging three women here in California.

And what happened was some tourists thought they saw him in Mexico. They notified the FBI and the bounty hunter. Both the FBI and the bounty hunter were after him. But it turns out that the bounty hunter -- and we're going to show you a picture of him now. A guy by the name of Dwayne Dog -- that's D-O-G --Chapman from Hawaii, Dog Chapman ended up getting -- there he is now -- getting to Luster first.

But a melee broke out. The Mexican police had to come along and now Chapman is not in the dog house, but he is in a Mexican jail because the Mexican government doesn't look kindly on bounty hunters. And, in fact, neither does the FBI. The FBI clearly disapproving of what the Dog did.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RALPH BOELTER, FBI: I think his actions are just beyond the bounds that I can condone. He's out there apprehending, on his own -- certainly, that'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.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FELDMAN: so Heidi, here's what happens now. Old Dog Chapman is going to sit in the Mexican jail until he goes before a Mexican judge. And the judge in Mexico will decide if he broke any laws down there and if so, what happens next.

As for Andrew Luster, he, too, will have to go before a judge in Mexico. And then, it is believed, will be sent back to the United States, where he faces a 124-year prison term, which means, quite simply, life behind bars -- Heidi.

COLLINS: It does, indeed. Charles Feldman, thanks so much for the update on that.

And we want to let you know, Luster's attorney says he's already appealing his client's conviction on charges of drugging and raping three women. In an appearance last night on CNN, our Anderson Cooper asked the lawyer about the details of the case.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON COOPER, ANCHOR: There were all these reports came out in the trial of using GHB, women who were drugged, videotaped women who appeared to be unconscious while they were having sex.

ROGER DIAMOND, ANDREW LUSTER'S ATTORNEY: Well, there were only tapes of two of the three women. With respect to those two women we believe there are a number of defense to the charges.

One, that they consented to this because they knew Andrew. This was not a case that they were strangers. These were all friends of Andrew's. They all took drugs together. This was a mutually enjoyable experience for them. This is what they did. This was part of their lifestyle. So that was one of the defenses we had.

We had a number of other theories that we were going on. Unfortunately, by Andrew's leaving the trial in the midstream, I was not able to fully develop the defenses.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: One of Luster's victims says she was thrilled to hear of his arrest and she's now waiting for him to return to the states and begin serving, as we mentioned earlier, his 124-year sentence.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com