[5][2] In the late hours of September 15, 1976, 23-year-old Chapman, 22-year-old Donald Kuykendall, 17-year-old Cheryl Fisher, and 19-year-old Ruben Garza armed themselves and drove to 1072 South Prairie Drive, the home of Jerry Bowers Oliver, a 34-year-old resident of Pampa, Texas.

Chapman attempted to evade officers by leaving through the back door of his home but was caught and taken to the jail in Gray County.

[7][10][11][12][13][14][15][16] In a 2007 interview with Fox News, Chapman said that while serving his sentence, he tackled an inmate about to be shot for attempting to escape, and a congratulatory remark by a corrections officer inspired him to become a bounty hunter later.

[11] On June 18, 2003, Chapman made international news by capturing Max Factor cosmetics heir Andrew Luster, who had fled the United States in the middle of his trial on charges of drugging and raping a number of women.

[19] Mexican authorities had charged all three with "deprivation of liberty," involving the 2003 arrest of Andrew Luster, because bounty hunting is illegal in Mexico.

Since they did not obtain permission to leave the country while out on bail in 2003, the Mexican Government declared the three Chapmans fugitives from justice and tried to get them extradited to Mexico for sentencing.

[19] Although the judge agreed that the men were not a significant flight risk, he ordered that each wear an electronic monitoring device around the ankle.

[23] On October 11, 2006, reports surfaced of an open letter dated September 26, 2006, sent on Chapman's behalf by 29 Republican Congressmen to U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

[24] Subsequently, on October 20, 2006, lawyers for Chapman stated the Mexican federal court had granted them an order halting the criminal case against the bounty hunter until further evidence and witness testimony was gathered.

[26] In response, on February 23, Hawaii State Representatives Gene Ward, Karen Awana, Rida Cabanilla, Lynn Finnegan, Barbara Marumoto, Colleen Meyer, Kymberly Pine, Joe Bertram, Ken Ito, Marylin Lee, and John Mizuno introduced House Concurrent Resolution 50, "Requesting the President of Mexico and the Second District Court of Guadalajara to drop extradition charges against TV Bounty Hunter, Duane 'Dog' Chapman".

Some of these include: Larry King Live, Greta Van Susteren, Mark and Mercedez Morning Show on Mix 94.1 KMXB in Las Vegas, The Morning Show with Mike and Juliet on WFLD, Fox 6 News San Diego, The Glenn Beck Program, and THE 9 on Yahoo!.

[29] On September 29, 2006, Chapman received permission to have the electronic monitoring device removed temporarily so that he could travel to the East Coast for previously planned appearances.

[31] On November 5, 2007, U.S. Magistrate Judge Barry Kurren dismissed the extradition attempt, saying that even though the cases were appealed, the trio are no longer charged with any crimes.

This led him and the show's production company to do a spin-off about his work in capturing bail fugitives, in particular Chapman's efforts in hunting down Andrew Luster in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

After Luster's jailing, Chapman was interviewed for the August 28, 2003, episode of the truTV television series Dominick Dunne's Power, Privilege, and Justice.

In early October 2007, Chapman gained negative public attention after a private phone conversation between him and his son, Tucker, was sold to the National Enquirer.

During the recording, Chapman can be heard referring to his son's girlfriend as a "nigger", discussing the word use in his household, and expressing his disdain for interracial relationships.

[34][35] On October 31, 2007, Chapman issued a public apology,[36] but on November 2, 2007, A&E announced it was nonetheless removing the show from their schedule "for the foreseeable future.

[54][55] Both sons would go on to work with Chapman at Da'Kine Bail Bonds in Honolulu, Hawaii, and appear on TV alongside their father.

Tegnell was 17 years old when she became pregnant with Zebadiah and he feared that by having been intimate with a minor, he would be made to return to prison for violating his parole.

The two had met just days prior in a bar, while Lyssa was still married to her husband, an Assemblies of God minister, though the two had since separated due to his infidelity.

[62] The family lived in Denver, Colorado, in a home left to Chapman by his grandfather Mike, along with Duane Lee and Leland.

In his autobiography, You Can Run But You Can't Hide, Chapman referred to the marriage as "a disaster from the start," alleging she was addicted to amphetamines.

[66] His fifth marriage was to Alice Elizabeth "Beth" Barmore (née Smith; October 29, 1967 - June 26, 2019), with whom he had an on-again-off-again relationship, until the two married on May 20, 2006, at a Hilton hotel in Waikoloa Village, Hawaii.

The bill sought to restrict bail bondsmen in the state from issuing surety bonds for individuals arrested for misdemeanors, low-level felonies, and certain drug offenses, instead allowing the accused to arrange for their own release through personal recognizance, the stated goal being to lower the number of inmates in Colorado prisons.

[78][79][80] In September 2022, at the Christian evangelical “Opening the Heavens” conference, Chapman called President Biden "little Hitler" and "that freak" who "stoled" [sic] the 2020 election.

[9] He addressed it again in 2021, in an interview with Entertainment Tonight host Kevin Frazier, denying that he was racist and saying he "had more black friends than Eminem.

"[84] On October 8, 2021, The New York Times reported that Chapman was being sued for US$1.3 million for breach of contract regarding his conduct while filming a television series that would've been titled Dog Unleashed.

While searching for Brian Laundrie, Chapman reportedly in illegal possession of a taser and made homophobic and racist comments, resulting in the show's cancellation.

[85] In September 2022, at an Evangelical Christian conference in Council Bluffs, Iowa called "Opening the Heavens," Chapman gave a speech on stage in which he referred to U.S President Joe Biden as "little Hitler" and alleged that voter fraud was responsible for Donald Trump failing to win his re-election campaign.