Dog the bounty hunter won't be charged

A judge on Monday rejected an attorney's attempt to force prosecutors to charge bounty hunter Duane "Dog" Chapman with falsely reporting that a man had fired a gun at him and his crew.

Fourth Judicial District Judge J. Patrick Kelly ruled that the District Attorney's Office had carefully reviewed the case in which Hoang M. Nguyen initially was arrested on allegations that he fired a gun while fleeing from Chapman and local bail bondsman Bobby Brown.

Prosecutors dismissed the case on May 14, pointing to conflicting witness statements and the lack of any evidence showing that a gun had been fired.

Deputy Public Defender Bill Schoewe, who had represented Nguyen, filed a motion seeking to compel prosecutors to charge Chapman and others with false reporting and attempting to influence a public servant.

Schoewe contended that the allegations against his client, whom Chapman and Brown were pursuing on a bail-jumping case, was a publicity stunt for Chapman's A&E television show "Dog the Bounty Hunter."

Kelly noted that Schoewe's role as Nguyen's attorney came to an end when the charges against his client were dismissed. The judge also ruled that Nguyen had failed to file a statement supporting his claim and instead simply attached a transcript of the May 14 court hearing.

Finally, Kelly concluded that Nguyen and his attorney failed to prove that the prosecutor's decision not to bring charges against Chapman, his son and Brown was "arbitrary and capricious."

"The District Attorney performed his function and duty when he decided that the defendant's case could not be successfully prosecuted in spite of the apparent attention that surrounded the allegations against the defendant," Kelly wrote.
Schoewe said he was disappointed with the judge's ruling.

"I think it's a shame that these guys can come into town and play wild west cowboys and get away with that," he said.

Chapman's publicist could not be reached for comment. Brown said he was elated by the decision.

"I have a lot of faith in the system," said Brown. Speaking just for himself, he added, "I think the allegations the public defender made were just simply outrageous.

"To think that we were out for publicity ... it just didn't make sense," he added. "That thing happened in a matter of five seconds."

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