HONOLULU - TV reality star Duane “Dog” Chapman and two co-stars on his show were arrested Thursday in Hawaii on charges of illegal detention and conspiracy in the bounty hunters’ capture three years ago of a cosmetics company heir.

Chapman, son Leland Chapman and associate Timothy Chapman were taken into custody and did not resist arrest, said Mark Hanohano, U.S. Marshal for the district of Hawaii. “It went down without incident,” Hanohano said.

Mona K. Wood, a publicist for the star of the popular cable series “Dog The Bounty Hunter,” said Chapman would be vindicated. “He arrests the bad guys — and he is definitely not one of them,” she said.

The charges stem from Chapman’s capture of Max Factor heir Andrew Luster on June 18, 2003, in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, said Marshals spokeswoman Nikki Credic in Washington.

Chapman’s capture of Luster, who had fled the country while on trial on charges he raped three women, catapulted the 53-year-old bounty hunter to fame and led to the reality series on A&E.

Chapman, shackled at his ankles and wearing a blue muscle T-shirt at his first court appearance Thursday, said the government was jealous of his success in hunting down criminals.

“You see what the American government is doing to us? They throw us in jail,” Chapman said in a federal courtroom. “I’m so upset about this.”

NBC VIDEO 'Dog's' wife 'surprised' by his arrest Sept. 14: Beth Chapman, the wife of bounty hunter Duane "Dog" Chapman, talks to MSNBC-TV's Rita Cosby about her husband's arrest. MSNBC

The three are being held in Honolulu. Bail has not been set. They will face an extradition hearing to Mexico under terms of treaties between the U.S. and Mexico, Credic said.

Chapman’s son Leland, 29, and Timothy Chapman, 41, no relation, assist Chapman in exploits chronicled for the TV show around the Hawaiian Islands. The show focuses on Chapman’s family as much as the bounty hunting, which generally involves tracking down bail jumpers, often creating emotional scenes with repentant captives.

Charges have been pending against the three since local police in Mexico arrested them shortly after they roped in Luster. They posted bail but never returned to Puerto Vallarta for their court hearing on July 15, 2003, Credic said.

Mexican authorities demanded that the Chapmans transfer Luster to Mexican police. Their refusal to do so led to their initial arrest.

A U.S. warrant for their arrest was signed by a federal judge in Honolulu on Wednesday.

Chapman’s wife, Beth, said he didn’t do anything wrong.

“If Duane has to return to Mexico to take care of any misunderstanding, then that’s what he will do,” she said outside the courthouse.

HONOLULU — Bounty hunter Duane "Dog" Chapman's TV show will return to the air this summer, months after it was pulled when the reality star used a racial slur in a profanity-laced tirade.

Filming has begun on the fifth season, according to executives with A&E, the cable network that broadcast "Dog the Bounty Hunter." Reruns of the show will start June 25, with new episodes, including ones from the fourth season that have not previously aired, coming a few weeks later.

The show features Chapman and crew chasing down bail jumpers in Hawaii and other states. It was pulled from the air in November when Chapman was heard in a taped phone conversation using a racial slur in reference to his son's girlfriend, who is black.

The Chapman family, A&E executives and a representative from a civil rights organization were part of a carefully choreographed press conference Wednesday to announce the relaunch of the show.

The message: Chapman deserves a second chance.

"It's not about ratings," A&E spokesman Michael Feeney said. "We know his heart. We know him and know he's not a racist."

Scott Lonker, vice president nonfiction and alternative programming at A&E, said viewer demand for the show also weighed in the decision.

Niger Innis, national chairman of the Congress of Racial Equality, said Chapman's use of the racial slur was wrong. But he noted that Chapman "took ownership of the harm it caused" and "sought to turn his life around."

Alphonso Braggs, Hawaii chapter president of the NAACP, disagreed, saying Chapman got off lightly for behavior that is "absolutely unacceptable."

"If individuals see they are able to behave inappropriately with little or no consequence, they will continue that pattern," he said.

Chapman, in his trademark sunglasses and badge, signed a copy of his book, "You Can Run But You Can't Hide" at the media-only event and said he was "ashamed" by his racial comments.

He said he has received counseling and reached out to blacks, speaking at a Martin Luther King Jr. Day event and participating in a toy drive.

"There was one perfect person, and they called him Jesus Christ," Chapman said. "You have to ... realize that everyone is human, and you can err."

His wife, Beth, said her husband's use of the racial slur was not a reflection of the family's feelings and vowed it would not set them back.

"We're Chapmans, and we're fighters," she said. "And brother, we're not going to settle in our setbacks. We're going to have a comeback."

Bounty hunter Duane "Dog" Chapman will return from the Mainland today with evidence that convicted sex offender Frank Lefrandt Jr. left Honolulu and ended up in El Salvador — via Los Angeles and Phoenix, Chapman's publicist said yesterday.

Although Chapman will give authorities ATM and other records that show that Lefrandt is in San Salvador, El Salvador, he will not pursue Lefrandt without a provisional arrest warrant to enter El Salvador, publicist Mona Wood said yesterday.

In June 2003, Chapman, his son Leland Chapman and fellow bounty hunter Tim Chapman, who is not related, faced criminal charges in Mexico for "unlawful deprivation of liberty" when they captured a fugitive serial rapist, Max Factor heir Andrew Luster, in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

A Mexican judge eventually dismissed their case, but the Chapmans had also faced extradition and arrest warrants that were issued in the United States while their case was on appeal.

Chapman is the star of the Honolulu-based A&E reality TV show, "Dog the Bounty Hunter," but the show was not in production while Chapman followed Lefrandt's trail on the Mainland and into El Salvador, Wood said.

It is likely, however, that A&E crews would follow Chapman into El Salvador if he gets permission to go there, Wood said.

a former missionary

Chapman also found out that Lefrandt served as a Mormon missionary in Guatemala 30 years ago.

"He may know the area, but it is definitely not going to be a vacation for him," Chapman said in a statement released by Wood.

On Tuesday, a Circuit Court judge ordered forfeiture of $100,000 bail posted by bondsman James Lindblad for Lefrandt after Lefrandt failed to turn himself in to prison authorities.

Lindblad, the owner of A-1 Bail Bonds, then sought the help of Duane Chapman to find Lefrandt.

Lefrandt, 47, originally was charged with one count each of first- and third-degree sexual assault as well as a count of attempted sexual assault. He pleaded guilty in November to sexual assault and one count of attempted second-degree sexual assault involving a 13-year-old newspaper carrier who worked for him.

Lefrandt was an independent contractor delivering The Honolulu Advertiser when the 13-year-old accompanied Lefrandt to Kapolei to pick up Sunday newspapers for delivery.

Circuit Judge Steven Alm ordered Lefrandt to turn himself in Dec. 1 to await sentencing Feb. 9. But Lefrandt did not appear at O'ahu Community Correctional Center as ordered.

Alm issued a warrant for Lefrandt's arrest and increased Lefrandt's bail from $100,000 to $5 million.

Reach Dan Nakaso at dnakaso@honoluluadvertiser.com.

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GRETA VAN SUSTEREN, FOX NEWS HOST: Dog the Bounty Hunter is here to go "On the Record." Dog is tracking down several fugitives right now. One of them is a convicted rapist of a 13-year-old boy who fled Hawaii before the prison doors could slam shut on him.

The rapist was set to begin a 10-year prison sentence on December 1, but instead he took off. Duane Dog Chapman from A&E's "Dog the Bounty Hunter" is here. Nice to see you, Dog.

DUANE "DOG" CHAPMAN, BOUNTY HUNTER: Nice to see you, Greta. How are you?

VAN SUSTEREN: I'm very well. Dog, before we get into this--the guy only got 10 years for a rape of a 13-year-old boy?

CHAPMAN: Yes. He plea-bargained out on a 10-year sentence. And I believe the reason was because they didn't want to have the victim go through the court hearings. So he pled to sexual assault on a child and received a 10-year sentence.

VAN SUSTEREN: All right. What's his name, where is he, and what are you doing about it?

CHAPMAN: OK, Greta, his name is Frank LeFrandt. He's also before used the alias Cornelius(ph). He flew at the end of last month from Hawaii to California, from California to Tucson, where he rented this jeep, a jeep Commander. Here's the plate number--ACE7097.

He then used his credit card in Santa Ana, Mexico. He told the border patrol that he was going on vacation as he crossed the border from California. He said he was going on vacation to Santa Ana and traveling through Mexico.

He is a 6'1" male. He's 215 pounds. Now just before he left, his wife noticed that he grew a beard and dyed it. So he could have a beard.

He has been a Mormon for 20, 25 years, and when he was on his journey as a Mormon, did he that in Santa Ana and in El Salvador. So that's the connections he had down there.

The new bail for him right now in Hawaii is $5 million. So this guy is going away for a long time.

And, as you know, we cannot go down in Mexico and apprehend him as an American citizen. So I'm working very close with the United States Marshals out of Hawaii, and they've asked me to give their number--541- 3,000; again, 541-3000, with the area code of 808.

If anyone has any kind of clue, then we can grab this guy right away.

VAN SUSTEREN: Is Mexico helping?

CHAPMAN: You know, Mexico is helping a lot. As you noticed lately, they've extradited a lot of cop killers and sexual assault-convicted felons back to America. So we've got this open line with Mexico and, yes, they are helping very much this time.

VAN SUSTEREN: Does he have access to any money?

Watch Greta's interview with Duane "Dog" Chapman

CHAPMAN: You know, he doesn't have a lot of money, but he's hitting - - he had a credit card, closed it. Then he opened another credit card. He hit an ATM machine in Santa Ana. That's how we tracked him. So I don't think so.

But he's a teacher, and he teaches kids a lot of languages. He speaks five fluent languages, one of them being Spanish. So I would think he'd be back in that kind of church atmosphere, and, of course, where children are, and down in Mexico right now.

VAN SUSTEREN: You're also working on a lot of other cases, but one is Felix Batista. What is that case?

CHAPMAN: Felix Batista was kidnapped from Mexico last Wednesday. And we've been asked by the company he worked not to say too much about it, so I'm going to respect that. But, yes, he's a kidnap victim out of Mexico, an American.

VAN SUSTEREN: What -- I understand that A&E has signed season six of your show.

CHAPMAN: Oh, thank you, Greta. Yes, we just got done filming season five, and thank god we're headed for season six. And we probably will premier season six with Mr. La Frant(ph), his capture.

VAN SUSTEREN: I hope you're not being optimistic.

CHAPMAN: Well, I'm always optimistic, but you and I both know he's going to go down.

VAN SUSTEREN: And, in terms of season six, any other good investigations you can tip us off to so we sort of have the tease?

CHAPMAN: You know, we're kind of like doing group arrests right now. It seems like the last four or five fugitives we've arrested, he's had two buddies that are always wanted.

So now as we go through the door, we used to just get one, and now we're getting two and three at a time. So season six has upped itself without us having to create anything. Birds of a feather flock together.

So as long as they stay in a group--big ones come in pairs, and little one come in bunches. So hopefully we'll have a bunch of them for season six.

VAN SUSTEREN: Do you love your work, Dog?

CHAPMAN: Oh, Greta, I love this work, especially when you capture the guy. I wear shade as lot because I cry, and every time I capture them I get goose bumps all over, and I get teary-eyed. I love what I do. I love to capture the guy. I love to tell the victim "Don't worry anymore. They're in jail."

And this is my way to heaven. This is my way to contribute to America what I know how to do best, and that's chase down the predator.

VAN SUSTEREN: People oftentimes forget the victim. the person sitting at home, whether it's a child rape case or a family of a murder victim. It's important to talk to the families, isn't it?

CHAPMAN: Well, it's important to capture these guys, because this guy, again, was convicted of sexual assault to a 13-year-old child. So you know that little boy is scared to death right now while this predator is running around. So the first one I'm going to call after we capture the guy is him.

But the victims never get really vindicated. But the only thing they can do is see that the predator or the perp is in jail, and that helps them out a lot.

VAN SUSTEREN: And I bet the judge who gave him bond is probably not very happy right now because he ran off on his sentence.

CHAPMAN: Well, it just so happens to be it's one of my favorite judges. And when he heard that he had ran off, you can see the bond. It's probably one of the highest bonds in the country. It's now set at $5 million bail. So, yes, the judge is very upset.

VAN SUSTEREN: Dog, thank you, and say hi to Beth for me, your wife.

CHAPMAN: Thank you, ma'am, I will. Aloha to your family and to Fox. And happy holidays, too, from Hawaii, the land of Obama.

VAN SUSTEREN: Thank you, Dog..