You Can Run but You Can't Hide
Read You Can Run but You Can't Hide Online
Authors: Duane Dog Chapman
YO U C A N R U N,
B U T YO U
C A N ’ T H I D E
BY D U A N E
“ D O G ” C H A P M A N
W I T H L A U R A M O R T O N
New York
To m y S o u l M a t e , A l i c e E l i z a b e t h C h a p m a n
&
To a n y b o d y w i t h a d r e a m .
Th e y d o c o m e t r u e .
CONTENTS
C H A P T E R O N E :
I Am Dog
5
C H A P T E R T W O :
Seventh-Grade Beatdown
9
C H A P T E R T H R E E :
Becoming the Dog
14
C H A P T E R F O U R :
Prospecting for the Disciples
22
C H A P T E R F I V E :
The Shootout on Mission Hill
30
C H A P T E R S I X :
Leaving the Disciples
37
C H A P T E R S E V E N :
Pampa, Texas
41
C H A P T E R E I G H T:
One Night in Pampa
48
C H A P T E R N I N E :
Murder One
54
C H A P T E R T E N :
Welcome to Huntsville
64
C H A P T E R E L E V E N :
Light in the Darkness
69
C H A P T E R T W E LV E :
The Barber of Huntsville
76
C H A P T E R T H I R T E E N :
Free as a Bird
81
C H A P T E R F O U R T E E N :
Going Home
86
C H A P T E R F I F T E E N :
Vengeance
90
iv
C o n t e n t s
C H A P T E R S I X T E E N :
Shotgun Wedding
93
C H A P T E R S E V E N T E E N :
Selling Kirbys
96
C H A P T E R E I G H T E E N :
Lucky
102
C H A P T E R N I N E T E E N :
Zebadiah
108
C H A P T E R T W E N T Y:
Salesman of the Year
112
C H A P T E R T W E N T Y- O N E :
Getting My Boys Back
116
C H A P T E R T W E N T Y- T W O :
Meeting My Soul Mate
120
C H A P T E R T W E N T Y- T H R E E :
My College Education
126
C H A P T E R T W E N T Y- F O U R :
Meeting Tony Robbins
132
C H A P T E R T W E N T Y- F I V E :
Mistake
138
C H A P T E R T W E N T Y- S I X :
Aloha From Hawaii
142
C H A P T E R T W E N T Y- S E V E N :
Mirror Image
147
C H A P T E R T W E N T Y- E I G H T:
My Darkest Day
152
C H A P T E R T W E N T Y- N I N E :
Cracking Up
159
C H A P T E R T H I R T Y:
Rock Bottom
165
C H A P T E R T H I R T Y- O N E :
Getting Out of Hell
170
C H A P T E R T H I R T Y- T W O :
Kidney Stones Saved My Life
176
C H A P T E R T H I R T Y- T H R E E :
One Step Forward
183
C H A P T E R T H I R T Y- F O U R :
Going Hollywood
191
C H A P T E R T H I R T Y- F I V E :
A Chase to the Grave
195
C H A P T E R T H I R T Y- S I X :
Ivan Van Thompson
201
C H A P T E R T H I R T Y- S E V E N :
Two Steps Back
207
C H A P T E R T H I R T Y- E I G H T:
The Big One
210
C H A P T E R T H I R T Y- N I N E :
Entering the Hunt for Luster
214
C H A P T E R F O R T Y:
Carey, Shawna, and Tonja Doe
220
C H A P T E R F O R T Y- O N E :
On a Mission from God
226
C H A P T E R F O R T Y- T W O :
Prey
231
C o n t e n t s
v
C H A P T E R F O R T Y- T H R E E :
Wheeling and Dealing
235
C H A P T E R F O R T Y- F O U R :
The Thai Trail
238
C H A P T E R F O R T Y- F I V E :
One Last Warning
241
C H A P T E R F O R T Y- S I X :
The Dog Cometh
244
C H A P T E R F O R T Y- S E V E N :
You Can Run
249
C H A P T E R F O R T Y- E I G H T:
You Can’t Hide
256
C H A P T E R F O R T Y- N I N E :
Mexican Prison
262
C H A P T E R F I F T Y:
Posting Bail
270
C H A P T E R F I F T Y- O N E :
America the Beautiful
276
C H A P T E R F I F T Y- T W O :
Justice Denied
282
C H A P T E R F I F T Y- T H R E E :
My Wedding Day
289
C H A P T E R F I F T Y- F O U R :
Room for Two More
296
C H A P T E R F I F T Y- F I V E :
Second Chances
298
C H A P T E R F I F T Y- S I X :
Federal Marshals
303
C H A P T E R F I F T Y- S E V E N :
From Misdemeanor to Felony
310
C H A P T E R F I F T Y- E I G H T:
A Final Thought
315
“Dad, pull over.
He’s stopping at a taco stand.” Andrew
Luster, fugitive and convicted rapist, stood eating a taco. He had no
idea I was on his ass. He turned to cross the street without a care in
the world.
That was the first time I saw Luster with my own two eyes. Until
that moment, he was a figment of my imagination. He was a photo,
a sketch. And now he was alive—a living, breathing target. I saw his
shoulders, his head, and his eyes. As I rose above the steering wheel,
I could see what I had been eating, breathing, and looking for in my
dreams.
I had Luster’s picture taped up in my bathroom so I could see
him at night before I went to bed and in the morning when I awoke.
I kept a photo of him in my car. His Wanted poster was plastered
all over my office.
My wife, Beth, taped up words of encouragement next to Luster’s
face—phrases like “I will lead, not follow. I will create, not destroy. I
will believe, not doubt. I will set new standards. I am the voice. I am
a leader. I am going to proceed. I will succeed.” Every day I studied
Luster’s features as I filled my head with positive thoughts.
I recognized every inch of Luster. I knew his walk from footage I
had studied, just as I knew his voice on the phone.
“Oh, my God. It’s him.” I can never explain why I said that out
loud. So many people had doubted my ability to catch this bum.
2
Yo u Ca n R u n , b u t Yo u Ca n ’ t H i d e
“Dog can’t catch him.”
“Dog’s a liar.”
“Dog’s a felon.”
I heard all of those doubting voices in my head as I stood on
the street staring at my prey. And then one voice came through loud
and clear. It was the voice of my father. He said, “Now is the time.
This is it.” I don’t know why I was thinking about my dad. He never
understood why I do what I do. But now, in this moment, I think he
would have approved.
There are times when you just know in your heart that your
actions are the right thing to do and you can’t imagine that there
would be anyone who would object. And then it turns out to your
great surprise that someone says it’s wrong. But you’re glad you did
it anyway because you know it was the right thing to do. You do it
to protect others who might be at risk. My dad would have called
that a question of morality.
“Get him!” Every voice in my head was shouting. “Get him!”
The entire time I searched for Andrew Luster, Eminem’s song
“Lose Yourself” was like my theme.
That song came on the radio as I was about to pounce on Luster.
I was frozen, stuck in the moment. Fear and pure exhilaration
flowed through my veins.
The guys were looking at me, waiting to see what I would do next.
This was the Super Bowl of bounties. It was my Indy 500, my
turn at the Grand Ole Opry. I had worked so hard to reach this mo-
ment. I wanted to enjoy every second, every beat.
Luster looked around, as if to make sure the coast was clear, but
didn’t move. In that moment, I realized what the term “bounty
hunter” really meant. It wasn’t about the six thousand other arrests
I had made throughout my career. It was about right now. I thought
about Big Lou throwing his cuffs at my feet that day I saved Bigfoot
back in Huntsville. “Cuff him, bounty hunter.” This was it.
“I’m going first. Tim, you come right behind me. Leland, when I
attack, you go.” I looked over at Filiberto to get his signal that it
was a “go.” He nodded his head.
I crouched way down on the ground. I felt like a soldier maneu-
vering across the desert as I shimmied my way closer to Luster. I
wanted to scare him like a Samoan warrior. I got right in his face,
spread my arms wide, and yelled, “WHOOOOAAAA!” When I
I n t r o d u c t i o n
3
popped up, I scared the crap out of that boy. He tried to bolt, but
Tim wrapped his arms around Luster’s neck. I tackled him at the
waist while Leland grabbed him in the leg. We all went down.
I heard a thunderous noise, like a stampede of wild horses. It
was the sound of Luster’s bodyguards trying to get close. It was too
late. I cuffed him, stood up, and said, “You are under arrest in the
name of the United States government and Mexico!”
The bodyguards backed off.
Luster was mine.
When he looked at me, he said, “I knew you were going to get
me.”
“Damn right, Luster.”
“I knew it. I knew it, Dog. I’ve been set up.”
“You didn’t get set up. You got hunted down.”
My name is Duane Lee Cha pman.
My friends call
me Dog—Dog the Bounty Hunter. For more than twenty-seven