Leland Chapman

Leland Blane Chapman (born December 14, 1976 in Groom, Texas) is an American bail bondsman and bounty hunter, known as one of the stars of the A&E Network reality television program Dog the Bounty Hunter. He also starred in the Country Music Television television documentary Dog and Beth: On the Hunt.

Video Leland Chapman

Early life

Leland Blane Chapman was born the second son of Duane Chapman Sr. and his first wife, La Fonda Sue Darnall (nÃ©e Honeycutt). When Chapman was 7 months old, his father was sent to prison. During Duane Chapman's incarceration, Chapman's parents divorced. He was unable to see his father again until he was eight years old, when the elder Chapman gained visitation rights to see him and his brother, Duane Lee. Until then, Chapman had believed that his stepfather was his biological father.

Chapman spent his early years in Pampa, Texas, but during his teen years, moved to Colorado Springs, Colorado. As a teenager Chapman ran away from home, began skipping school and joined a gang. Unable to handle him any longer, his mother put him in foster care and he was placed in a boys care home at 13. He was given the choice go back into foster care or go live with his father and he chose to live with his father. Chapman graduated high school in June 1995, the only one among his brothers and sisters, before Beth's children, to have graduated from high school. He carried his oldest son Dakota as he walked in the graduation line.

At seventeen, Chapman began training in boxing and mixed martial arts with the help of his good friend, Sonny Westbrook (who has appeared many times on Dog the Bounty Hunter). In 2003 Chapman gave up competing in these sports after injuring his left knee, as he was told following surgery that if he did not cease fighting, he risked the loss of use of his leg. During early filming of Dog The Bounty Hunter, he can be seen wearing a knee brace after he had spent four months off his feet.

Maps Leland Chapman

Career

Chapman started out working for his father at their family's bail bonds company, Da Kine Bail Bonds. Other family members working for the company include Beth Chapman (nÃ©e Smith; Dog's current wife), Duane Lee Chapman, Leland, and "Baby" Lyssa Chapman (Dog's daughter/Leland's half-sister), among others. On September 14, 2006, Leland Chapman was arrested along with Duane "Dog" Chapman and Tim Chapman by U.S. Marshals at the request of the Mexican government and was to be extradited to Mexico to face charges of "deprivation of liberty". The charges stem from an incident in which they were chasing fugitive and serial rapist Andrew Luster, the Max Factor Cosmetics heir. They captured Luster on June 18, 2003 in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Shortly after the capture, the three were themselves arrested by Puerto Vallarta police officers; the three posted bail but never returned to Mexico for their court hearing on July 15, 2003. They were released from custody on bail; Leland and Tim Chapman's bail was set at $100,000 each, while Dog's was set at $300,000. They faced an extradition hearing to Mexico, under the terms of treaties between the United States and Mexico. On the August 4, 2007 episode of Larry King Live, it was announced that the Mexican government had dropped the charges filed against the three bounty hunters.

Chapman, along with his brothers, Duane Lee and Wesley Chapman, formed Chapbros Media. The company launched an iPhone, iPod Touch and website talent contest application called, "Show Off". The company is no longer in business.

The March 21, 2012 episode depicted Duane Lee telling Beth, "You want me fired, you gotta fire me," after which Chapman stated that he was quitting too. In 2012, the two brothers publicly stated that they left the show. In a tweet from Beth she wrote, "It will take 6 weeks to get thru the whole thing tonight's jus [sic] the beginning".

Since leaving the show Leland Chapman operates his own bail bond company, Kama'aina Bail Bonds, and runs his father's business, Da Kine Bail Bonds, on the Big Island of Hawaii. He previously headed Bounty Hunter Tactical Supply Co. after Duane Lee moved to Florida.

In April 2013, Duane "Dog" Chapman's new television show, Dog and Beth: On the Hunt, debuted on CMT. The show features Dog, Beth, and Leland traveling across the country giving bail bondsmen businesses advice and assisting them with bounties. The pilot episode featured Chapman and Dog working together for the first time since the split in 2012.