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Duane 'Dog' Chapman cannot be extradited to Mexico to face kidnapping charges over the 2003 capture of a rapist, judges have ruled.
Mexican authorities had asked US police to send the Dog The Bounty Hunter star to them after he seized Max Factor cosmetics heir Andrew Luster, who was wanted in the US on rape charges.
Bounty hunting is illegal in Mexico and Chapman, his son and a colleague angered authorities when their plans to detain Luster in Puerto Vallarta were discovered.
The trio were arrested by US Marshals in September 2006 after a formal request by the Mexican government.
However, a US judge rejected the move last November and a panel of three Mexican judges agreed earlier this week.
Chapman's attorney James A Quadra told the Associated Press: "He's a free man. They can't reinstate any criminal charges and as a result of that, there's no basis for them to then seek extradition."
The bounty hunter and wife Beth said in a statement: "We are ecstatic that this nightmare is finally over, and happy to see the Mexican justice system works. We can all now move forward."
Luster was sentenced to 124 years in jail for drugging and raping three women.
