With tips from local Virginians, Dog the Bounty Hunter assisted in the arrest of a fugitive in Albermarle County. Now, he's looking to celebrate with all his fans during a meet-and-greet in Augusta County. 

The world’s most famous bounty hunter, Duane Chapman, also known as Dog, was in Albemarle County, Virginia, on the hunt for a fugitive. 

The fugitive is Felix Chujoy, a man who is close friends with Augusta County Sheriff Donald Smith and who was indicted by a grand jury in May for a felony count of manufacturing and distributing meth. Chujoy is 5’1, weighs 160 pounds, and has black hair and brown eyes—and Dog suspected he could find Chujoy in Albermarle County. 

The Hunt

Dog began his hunt on July 12 but ran into many problems. According to him, Chujoy had a month head start because law enforcement failed to enter his warrant into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) for 13 days after his indictment.

“What happens usually in every case that I’ve ever seen is that once someone is indicted by a grand jury – that’s why we have grand juries in this state, not district attorneys – because more than one person says put a warrant out. That’s what’s supposed to happen, immediately. I think the law in your state says forthwith, like bam now. So, for him to get ahead of the game or ahead of everybody is not good,” said Dog. “So, we’re going to countdown hours, first days – right now we’re a month behind him. Pretty soon, we’ll be 22 days, and then down to 10 days, and then pretty soon of course, we’ll be three minutes from him and then we get the two-minute warning and it’s on. So, its more difficult to find him because the warrant was not entered on NCIS, that’s the national computer, right away. That’s ridiculous.”

Therefore, Dog had to rely on tips from local Samartitans to help him find Chujoy. He even offered a cash reward for anyone that provided any information that led to Chujoy's arrest. 

“People know Felix. He’s from around here. He’s been arrested a few times,” said the infamous bounty hunter.

In today’s age of coronavirus, Dog has also found it harder to find fugitives because everyone’s wearing masks that obscure their face.

“The way I recognize people is facial features, which include eyes, face and all that,” he said. “Most of my fugitives right now are walking around with their face covered. Shades on, face covered, and a hat. You’ll never know it.”

Chujoy's Arrest

The hunt for Chujoy lasted about 72 hours. Despite being a month behind, Dog was able to use the tips he received from local Virginians to put the heat on the fugutive. He put pressure on everyone Chujoy knew and every place he had been within the last 72 hours. According to Dog, they went to 12-14 houses and then knocked on the door of Chujoy's last known residence, demanding he turned himself in. Within an hour of their visit, Chujoy turned himself in to the police. He was taken into custody and is currently being held without bond at the Middle River Regional Jail.  

Although Dog wasn't the one to put the cuffs on Chujoy, he believes his hunt was a major success due to tips from local fans. 

"I appreciate everybody's love because I live on that, and I love my fans and I love to love them back," said Dog. "So, it means that when we places where we're not that well known, it takes weeks and sometimes months to capture him. When we go to places where we're known and we're loved, it takes days – so that's the difference. I knew there were more good people in this state than there were bad, and 72 hours – we got him."

Dog is Holding a Meet-and-Greet in Augusta County

Before Dog embarks on his next hunt, he wants to celebrate his fans in Virginia. He is holding a "thank you ceremony," much like a meet-and-greet, for all Virginians in Augusta County. Although he hasn't released all the details, he announced that it will likely be this Friday, July 17. 

"We just want to shake your hand, hug on you," said Dog. "Of course wear your masks and then as you do a picture, take it down and hold your breathe. And we just want to share our thank you by touching you physically. 

Could This Hunt End up on TV?  

Dog hasn’t been on television since 2019, when his wife and bounty hunting partner, Beth, died from cancer. However, Dog was joined by his fiancé Francie on the hunt for Chujoy, and it seems as through he might be looking to restart his reality television career.

The bounty hunter reshared a photo posted by Nick Walker, a supervising producer on Dog’s Most Wanted that showed a car rigged out with cameras. The caption on the photo said, “Rolling deep with my homies #dogthebountyhunter,” and when a fan asked if he was filming for Dog, Walker confirmed it to be true.

Dog even posted some behind-the-scenes photos on his own Instagram account, including a picture of him behind the camera.

Stay tuned for more information regarding Dog's meet-and-greet – and let us know if you plan on attending!