In what seems like a reality TV version of Lorenzo Lamas’ 90s series *Renegade,* world famous bounty hunter Duane “Dog” Chapman has gone on the hunt for fugitives on the run, and there’s no place that these criminals can hide. After all, Duane is the best, and he’ll go anywhere from his home base in Hawaii, to his native state of Colorado to capture his prey. He’s joined on the hunt by his business partner and wife, Beth, and his two boys Leland and Duane Lee. But recently, Duane made a shocking and sad announcement to fans that have left them reeling.They went from hunting criminals down and bringing them to justice, to helping other bail bond agencies, who were on the brink of extinction.
Duane and his wife, Beth used their years of bounty hunting experience to train other local bounty hunters on how to use high-tech tracking devices and a wide array of techniques to find their fugitives.
After 3 seasons and 47 episodes, Beth and Duane decided that “Dog and Beth: On the Hunt” would not be returning.
The bounty hunting couple also announced that when they leave CMT, they’re taking the rights to all of their shows with them.
Beth has decided to run for president of the Professional Bail Agents of the United States, or PBUS for short.
They claim that it has declared war on the bail bond industry. In California alone, the current bail bond system was declared unconstitutional.
This is why she doesn’t understand the government’s views on the industry. “I worked with the California Bail Agents Association to get them on as interveners in the case so that the industry can mount a significant challenge to this incredibly disastrous suit,” she said.
She added that “removing the bail system would have a deleterious effect on the criminal justice system”.
She certainly hasn’t kept her opinions to herself either. She added that “it is imperative that our association, under strong leadership, fight every attempt by these social justice lackeys to remove cash bail.”
However, he felt it was necessary in order to ensure that there would still be an industry available in which to work out of.
The level of assistance they provided to the criminal justice system has been crucial. Duane also said that “I have preached about how important it is that bail agents and bounty hunters conduct themselves properly.”
Duane and Beth felt they had no choice but to make this “incredibly tough decision because we feel that without intervention from all of our associations,” the bail industry will cease to exist.
Recently, Duane made headlines for his lobbying against reforming the cash bail system in Idaho. Now with the bail industry at stake, he has become more involved in politics in order to protect the bail enforcement infrastructure in the United States.
In 1976, he was convicted by the State of Texas for first-degree murder, and sentenced to five years in a state prison. Chapman claimed that he was sitting in his car when his friend shot and killed an alleged pimp while attempting to buy cannabis.
When a fellow inmate tried to escape, Duane tackled him, which prevented the guards from shooting the escapee. This, along with good behavior, made him eligible for parole after only 18 months. Inspired by the tackle, he decided to become a bounty hunter after his release.
He eventually rekindled a relationship with his two sons from a previous marriage, and got his eldest, Leland, to work with him as a bail agent.
The relationship started out rocky, and they eventually went their separate ways, married other people and divorced them. In 1995, Beth and Duane rekindled their romance and eventually married.
Luster was convicted on 86 charges of assault and rape. Duane had caught up with Luster in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico with the help of his hunt team, which included his son Leland, and his friend Tim, who also shares the same last name but aren’t related.
While Mexican Law Enforcement handed Luster over to Federal Marshalls, Duane, Leland, and Tim were charged with deprivation of liberty for essentially kidnapping Luster, because bounty hunting in Mexico is illegal.
This forced Mexican authorities to set a bail, which was then paid. But then things got interesting when, under the advice of their attorney, the team fled Mexico, making them international fugitives, and bringing more public exposure to Duane and his bounty hunting business.
The first episode followed Duane and his wife Beth through multiple hunts and arrests, including a situation where Duane had to wrestle a 350 pound dealer. The episode, led to A&E creating a full show with the Chapmans in 2004.
Then Duane spent the last ten minutes of each episode, giving an inspiring monologue to the criminal he’d arrest, and the episode would close with Duane being with his family.
U.S. Marshalls arrested the trio in Honolulu on behalf of the Mexican government. They then made an appearance in a media-packed courtroom to receive their bail sentence and were forced to pay a collective $500,000 for bail.
So the Mexican court system dropped all charges and the U.S. judicial system cancelled the extradition request. By 2012, tension within the team force them to quit the A&E show. But shortly after that, CMT created the “Dog and Beth: On The Hunt.” The Chapman’s have made a sacrifice, and we’ll definitely miss seeing them on-screen. For now, we wish them nothing but the best in their endeavors off-screen, and hope that we’ll see them again on reality TV at some point in the near future.
