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CNN Live Today

Luster Begins Serving Prison Sentence

Aired June 20, 2003 - 11:00   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, CNN ANCHOR: But we begin this hour with the latest legal maneuverings in that case. Luster has been brought back to California to begin serving his 124-year prison sentence but his attorney is still fighting his conviction.
CNN's Charles Feldman joins us now live from Los Angeles and all of the details. Hello once again, Charles.

CHARLES FELDMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you again, Heidi.

Yes, as you pointed out, unless Andrew Luster's attorney can work some magic and get an appeal going, his client is very likely to spend about 124 years, if he makes it that long, behind bars here in the state of California.

So, he intends to file, the attorney that is, a renewed effort for an appeal and that's going to happen in about a half an hour from now in a court here in Los Angeles.

Now, the other day Andrew Luster, after being on the lam for many months, was apprehended by Mexican police and you are now looking at a home video tape taken by amateur photographers, but a good job they did, showing the Mexican police taking Andrew Luster into custody.

Now, it wasn't the Mexican police, by the way, that actually found Luster. It was a bounty hunter, you're looking at the bounty hunter now, by the name of Dwayne "Dog," like the animal, Chapman from Hawaii, but the Mexican police who don't particularly like bounty hunters down there decided that they were going to arrest Mr. Chapman and so they did and they threw him into the same truck along with Andrew Luster.

Well, Chapman remains behind bars in Mexico. They're trying to figure out what to do with him down there but Andrew Luster came back here. He was brought on a commercial flight yesterday to Los Angeles International Airport. You see him there under the custody of FBI agents being walked to a car belonging to Ventura County Sheriff's folks, and from LAX he was taken to a prison about 110 miles from Los Angeles and he'll be spending quite an amount of time there.

Now, as we know by now Luster had fled California before he was even convicted in a trial that accused him of, and ultimately convicted him of, raping and drugging and videotaping the raping of three women. He went to Mexico, we now know. The jury continued with the case. They ended up convicting him and now Andrew Luster spends about 124 years in prison unless his attorney gets that appeal going, and as I said in about a half an hour he's going to begin that process once again - Heidi.

COLLINS: And, Charles, we will check back should those developments happen on schedule. Thanks so much, Charles.

FELDMAN: You're welcome.

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 20, 2003 - 11:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: But we begin this hour with the latest legal maneuverings in that case. Luster has been brought back to California to begin serving his 124-year prison sentence but his attorney is still fighting his conviction.
CNN's Charles Feldman joins us now live from Los Angeles and all of the details. Hello once again, Charles.

CHARLES FELDMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you again, Heidi.

Yes, as you pointed out, unless Andrew Luster's attorney can work some magic and get an appeal going, his client is very likely to spend about 124 years, if he makes it that long, behind bars here in the state of California.

So, he intends to file, the attorney that is, a renewed effort for an appeal and that's going to happen in about a half an hour from now in a court here in Los Angeles.

Now, the other day Andrew Luster, after being on the lam for many months, was apprehended by Mexican police and you are now looking at a home video tape taken by amateur photographers, but a good job they did, showing the Mexican police taking Andrew Luster into custody.

Now, it wasn't the Mexican police, by the way, that actually found Luster. It was a bounty hunter, you're looking at the bounty hunter now, by the name of Dwayne "Dog," like the animal, Chapman from Hawaii, but the Mexican police who don't particularly like bounty hunters down there decided that they were going to arrest Mr. Chapman and so they did and they threw him into the same truck along with Andrew Luster.

Well, Chapman remains behind bars in Mexico. They're trying to figure out what to do with him down there but Andrew Luster came back here. He was brought on a commercial flight yesterday to Los Angeles International Airport. You see him there under the custody of FBI agents being walked to a car belonging to Ventura County Sheriff's folks, and from LAX he was taken to a prison about 110 miles from Los Angeles and he'll be spending quite an amount of time there.

Now, as we know by now Luster had fled California before he was even convicted in a trial that accused him of, and ultimately convicted him of, raping and drugging and videotaping the raping of three women. He went to Mexico, we now know. The jury continued with the case. They ended up convicting him and now Andrew Luster spends about 124 years in prison unless his attorney gets that appeal going, and as I said in about a half an hour he's going to begin that process once again - Heidi.

COLLINS: And, Charles, we will check back should those developments happen on schedule. Thanks so much, Charles.

FELDMAN: You're welcome.

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