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If Dog The Bounty Hunter found fugitive Brian Laundrie, he couldn’t arrest or detain him or he would risk being charged with kidnapping, DailyMail.com reveals.
That’s because Dog, whose real name is Duane Chapman, isn’t actually licensed as a bounty hunter or private investigator in Florida – or anywhere else DailyMail.com has found – making his hunt in Laundrie potentially risky because it is legally prohibited to arrest or detain anyone against their will.
According to professional bounty hunters in Florida, there is no legal difference between Dog or any citizen who decides to join in the search for Laundrie, whose girlfriend Gabby Petito was found murdered on September 19 in a secluded part. of Teton County, Wyoming.
And arresting a citizen is verboten – unless you catch the offender committing a crime.
Dog The Bounty Hunter joined the manhunt for Brian Laundrie last month and mainly searched for a campsite in Florida. DailyMail.com may reveal that Dog, real name Duane Chapman, cannot arrest or detain anyone against his will or he could face kidnapping charges
Chapman and an entourage of former Marines and Navy SEALS scoured the islands off the west coast of Florida and nearby Fort De Soto Park in search of Laundrie that has been missing for weeks.
Florida Bounty Hunters, whose job it is to find and arrest suspects who don’t show up in court, are amused that Dog, who rose to fame with his long-running reality show on his suspect hunt in Hawaii , joined the search.
Chapman recently turned over to the FBI what he considered evidence, including a can of Monster caffeine soda found in the state park.
He has also set up his own phone line and claims to have received “over 2,000 calls” from as far north as Tennessee.
In 1976, Chapman was arrested for his involvement in a drug case that went awry in Texas when his accomplice shot and killed a 69-year-old man.
That, however, might be of no use if Chapman can’t even touch Laundrie.
Mike Harrison, vice president of the Florida Bail Bondsmen Association, said Chapman himself could face criminal charges if he made the mistake of seizing Laundrie.
“It would be kidnapping or bogus imprisonment,” said Harrison, the Tallahassee area bail bond.
Harrison says Dog’s lack of license is well known in the industry and stems from a past murder conviction.
In 1976, Chapman was arrested for participating in a drug deal that went awry in Texas when his accomplice shot and killed Jerry Oliver, 69.
While Chapman was in the getaway car and was not involved in the shooting, he was convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to five years in state prison.
Chapman says he’s still trying to erase his name and erase the conviction from his record. But he hasn’t been able to get the proper permissions to carry guns, write bonds, investigate cases or even travel to countries like the UK.
Jennifer Willingham, Dog’s publicist, responded to DailyMail.com’s request for comment in an email saying there was “nothing tenuous” about Chapman’s legal status.
She declined to expand and said Chapman was in the field and could not be reached for comment.
Chapman, seen wading through swamp water to find Laundrie, has no bounty hunter or private investigator license in Florida or elsewhere, making his hunt in Laundrie legally risky
Chapman recently turned over to the FBI what he considered evidence, including a can of Monster caffeine soda found in State Park
According to state records, the only active and valid license Chapman has is to sell insurance in Hawaii.
This is why Chapman was often accompanied by his namesake son when he searched for riders on bail across eight seasons of A&E Dog The Bounty Hunter; and why Dog was armed with a taser and bear repellant instead of a pistol.
Chapman’s son, Duane Lee Chapman II, now works as a bail bond in Jacksonville, Florida.
He seems estranged from his father and has often complained on the show that his old man is working him like a, well, dog.
Laundrie’s home state of Florida strictly regulates those who hunt humans, according to Harrison.
He says Florida removed the words “bounty hunter” from laws that regulate bail serfs in 2007.
“They changed the verbiage in the law to prevent guys like Dog from coming here from out of state to find people they haven’t followed,” Harrison said.
Dog focused much of his research around the Fort De Soto campsite in Pinellas County, Florida (pictured)
A map shows the location of the Fort de Soto Park campsite, Laundrie’s family home and the Carlton reserve where authorities have focused their research and Laundrie’s parents say he was heading
“For example, I am the only one who can go out to find someone who has skipped the deposit I have posted,” he said. ‘Everyone to his own tastes.’
“Everyone in the business knows Dog is doing this for publicity, maybe to land another TV show,” Harrison said. “It’s about getting more likes on social media, more exposure. But if he can find this kid (Laundrie), I guess more power for him. ‘
Over the past few weeks, Chapman and an entourage of former Marines and Navy SEALS have scoured the islands off the west coast of Florida and nearby Fort De Soto Park in an attempt to find Laundrie.
Authorities have yet to name a suspect in Petito’s death, which a coroner considered a homicide. But they’ve named Laundrie as a “person of interest” and want to tell her about her use of Gabby’s credit card after she goes missing.
As authorities searched for Laundrie in the forests, bogs and swamps near her home in North Port, Florida, a hiker on the Appalachian Trail more than 800 miles away in North Carolina claimed to have encountered Laundrie in weekend course.
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