Where Mercy Is Shown, Mercy Is Given - Duane Dog Chapman [13]
The meeting was successful since about halfway through it, A&E’s lawyer asked to see Beth and me in the hallway. “I want you to know that A&E is behind you if you want to replace your legal team.”
We went back into the meeting. We were stone-faced so we wouldn’t let on what we knew was about to go down. We asked Bollard if he wanted to break bread, have some lunch as a way to extend the olive branch. We were never the type of people to tear someone down to the point of no return. I try to embrace everyone. Bollard declined lunch but asked if he could have a few moments alone with Beth and me before we took a break.
After everyone left the room, he began his speech on what a big mistake it would be to replace him. He asked us to have faith in what he and his team were doing.
“We’re almost at the finish line. You need to stay with us.” He repeated his request several times until I finally said, “We’ll take that under advisement.”
A lot of water had flowed under this bridge.
After Bollard left, I decided that Beth and I would fly home to Hawaii and meet with Leland and Tim to make a final decision. Within a few weeks, we decided to dissolve our professional relationship with Bollard and Gandara and to retain Quadra, Zinser, and Amerena to take over our legal representation in our fight for freedom. From the moment that decision was made, a heaviness that I had carried for years was lifted off my chest. I could breathe again. I had been suffocating and didn’t even know it.
CHAPTER 5
Courtesy of Dog Corp.
Once we had new legal representation, things began happening. Alberto Zinser and his team filed a new emparro, which is a legal document that has to be submitted in the Mexican courts for an extradition case. There was a lot riding on this new document. If the emparro was rejected, I would be on my way back to Mexico. My new legal team told me they’d strengthened our argument by clarifying the exact charges against me. Despite the lack of evidence and a charge to the contrary, the authorities down there still believed I had kidnapped Luster. For the first time since I fled Mexico in 2003, I finally had a hope of beating the charges.
By the end of July 2007, the statute of limitations on all criminal counts pending in Mexico had run out. So, on July 27 the Mexican judge from the First Criminal Court in Puerto Vallarta had no choice but to dismiss all charges and nullify the outstanding arrest warrants against Leland, Tim, and me. The order effectively canceled all pending charges. The ruling, however, was subject to appeal by the prosecution. If an appeal was sought, it had to be filed by August 8.
When I found out about the charges being dropped, it was as if I had just undergone a heart transplant. I felt like a brand-new man.
“Viva la Mexico!” I shouted as loud and proud as I could when I heard the good news.
That was a memorable week for many reasons. First, Mexico, and then the publication of my best-selling book, You Can Run, but You Can’t Hide. I had worked hard to tell my personal story and was excited about sharing my life’s journey with my many fans. I wasn’t sure what to expect or how the book was going to be received. When I went to a local bookstore at the Kahala Mall, near our home in Hawaii, to do my first book signing, I was stunned and rendered momentarily speechless by the masses of people who showed up in support of the Dog. Seeing the crowd that day reminded me of the time several years ago when I was in a helicopter with Tony Robbins on our way to one of his events. Tony looked down and asked why there was so much traffic. I told him there had to be an accident or something that shut down the streets. That’s when his lead man on the ground radioed up to tell us the crowd was there to see him. I never forgot that moment because that was the first time I vowed to myself that someday a crowd like that would be there to see me. Well, that day had finally come.
I had to fight back my tears as I stepped out onto