Reality Rumors

Dog the Bounty Hunter sidekick Timothy Chapman was reportedly caught in a compromising position but is characterizing the incident as a misunderstanding.

Chapman was arrested Thursday night and charged Friday with first-degree terroristic threatening and may also be charged with indecent exposure, Jim Fulton, spokesman for Honolulu’s prosecutor’s office, told the Honolulu Star Bulletin in a Saturday report.

Police claim Ala Moana Center security guards responded to a Thursday night report of a man fondling himself in a vehicle in the shopping center’s parking lot, according to the Star Bulletin, and recognized the 42-year-old co-star of A&E’s Dog the Bounty Hunter reality series as they approached.

When the security guards requested Chapman exit the truck, he reportedly hopped behind the wheel, jumped a curb onto the sidewalk and drove towards a security guard before leaving the scene.

Chapman subsequently turned himself on Friday and was initially arrested on suspicion of second-degree attempted murder and indecent exposure, according to the Star Bulletin.

However he was instead charged with first-degree terroristic threatening, which the Star Bulletin reported is a a Class C felony punishable by up to five years in prison. In addition if he is charged with indecent exposure — a petty misdemeanor — he could reportedly face a maximum 30-day sentence. He was released on $11,000 bail.

Brook Hart, Chapman’s lawyer, described the incident to the Star Bulletin as a “massive misunderstanding,” claiming his client spilled juice on his pants and retreated to the backseat of his truck to change. When security guards approached the truck, which has tinted windows, and started yelling, Hart told the Star Bulletin that Chapman attempted to get away to avoid negative publicity.

“It was simply a man who wet his pants with orange juice inadvertently and was changing them, doing nothing wrong at all and believing he had sufficient privacy to do it,” Hart told the Star Bulletin.

The woman at the center of the Duane “Dog” Chapman racist remark firestorm refused to accept the U.S. TV star’s apology because it was issued through a lawyer.

Chapman was caught on tape calling Monique Shinnery, his son Tucker’s African-American girlfriend, the N-word.

Tucker Chapman reportedly sold the tape to a tabloid, sparking a media frenzy and prompting emotional apologies from Duane Chapman.

A&E has since yanked his show “Dog the Bounty Hunter” from its schedule and suspended production, pending an investigation.

Shinnery said she doesn’t accept Chapman’s apology.

“I think Duane’s apology was pathetic because it was not directed toward us. He didn’t personally call Tucker or me to apologize. His attorney, Brook Hart, did. So, I personally don’t accept it,” Shinnery told WITV-TV in Honolulu.

Television bounty hunter Duane “Dog” Chapman’s son taped a private phone conversation in which the reality star used a racial slur repeatedly, then sold it to a tabloid for “a lot of money,” Chapman’s lawyer said Thursday.

“I guess because of whatever level of anger he had of his father, he felt the need to express it in that manner,” attorney Brook Hart told The Associated Press.

Tucker Chapman could not be reached for comment; no one answered the telephone at a Honolulu number listed under his name.

The National Enquirer on Wednesday posted on its Web site a clip of a conversation in which Duane Chapman, star of the hit A&E series “Dog the Bounty Hunter,” repeatedly used the N-word in reference to Tucker’s girlfriend.

Chapman later apologized to his son and the woman, then learned about how the tape got into the tabloid’s hands, Hart said.

A&E has suspended production of the series, saying the network takes the matter seriously.

“When the inquiry is concluded, we will take appropriate action,” A&E spokesman Michael Feeney said in a statement Thursday.

The show, in its fifth season and one of A&E’s top-rated programs, has not been canceled.

Production was halted on the U.S. cable show “Dog the Bounty Hunter” after The National Enquirer reported Duane Dog Chapman made racist slurs on tape.

Chapman reportedly has apologized and expressed concern he would be “put in the same category as” shock jock Don Imus, who lost his syndicated radio show after on-air racist remarks.

The Enquirer reported Wednesday it obtained tapes of two telephone conversations in which Chapman, who gained fame on the A&E reality show, unleashes a tirade of racist insults and repeatedly uses the N-word.

A&E issued a statement announcing production on the show has been suspended, TMZ.com reported.

“When the inquiry is concluded we will take appropriate action,” the statement said.

The reported racist comments were directed at Monique Shinnery, who is black. She is the girlfriend of Chapman’s son, Tucker.

Chapman’s pastor, Tim Storey, told TMZ he spoke Wednesday with Chapman and the celebrity cried for 30 minutes, saying: “I’m shocked, I’m wrong I repent. Can you believe, Tim, that I’m going to be put in the same category as Imus.”

Storey, who is black, said Chapman is not a racist.

“He’s been to black churches with me to help inner-city kids,” he said.