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The Andrew Luster Capture

I got a call at 8:00 a.m. (MT) this morning from Fox News saying Andrew Luster had been arrested in Mexico, and the bounty hunter who had arrested him was also in jail. They were letting me know because I was scheduled to do a segment at 11:00 am (MT) on the Scott Peterson case, and they are adding Luster to the segment.

I took the news kind of personally, because Duane Chapman, or Dog the Bounty Hunter as he's usually called, is a bondsman I have used in the past and like a lot. After a few years of not being in touch (he moved to Hawaii and mostly lives there, although he still has his business in Denver) we hooked up again by coincidence a few weeks ago. As soon as I heard the news from Fox, I called his wife Beth in Hawaii who, understandably, was quite distraught. Not only did they arrest Dog, but they arrested her stepson, brother in law, a movie actor (who recently was in the film Italian Job), the camera man and the sound man.

Some things to know about Dog: He never carries a gun. Mace, sometimes, no guns. He has a really interesting life story, which you can read here.

As to the Luster capture, here's what Beth said (she had not yet spoken with Dog, but with one of the persons present):

Dog has been down in Puerto Vallarta since last Wednesday, when he got the latest tip that Luster was out and about at nightclubs and hanging out down there. Last night, Dog was told that Luster would be arriving at the Los Angeles Hotel. Dog was ready with two cars and his team of six. The first car carried the two people who had tipped Dog off. The second car contained Dog and his crew.

Two cars pulled up to the Los Angeles hotel. Some people alighted from the first while the second took off again. Dog chose to follow the second car rather than go inside the hotel. Eventually the second car stopped, and Luster got out. Dog grabbed him and put him in his car. Dog's car and the tipsters' car took off--they were not heading to the U.S. but to turn Luster over to authorities in Mexico. But the police had set up a roadblock. The first car, with the tipsters, got through. The second car, with Dog, Luster and Dog's crew, got stopped. The authorities arrested all of them.

The entire event with Luster was filmed. Mexican authorities confiscated the film. Hopefully they won't destroy it so we can all see what really took place.

As to Luster, his lawyer says that his being returned to the U.S. will mean he can revive his appeal of