Andrew Luster
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Andrew Stuart Luster (b. December 15, 1963) is the great-grandson of cosmetics giant Max Factor, Sr. and an heir to the Max Factor cosmetics fortune who was convicted of a series of rapes in 2003. For much of his life, he was supported by a $3.1 million trust fund as he traveled and surfed at various beaches.
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[edit] Arrest, conviction and appeal
In 1996, 1997 and 2000 Luster was accused of giving three women GHB, a known date rape drug, and raping them while they were unconscious. Luster was brought to trial in 2002. Soon afterward, police officers found videotapes of Luster raping the women in question, including one tape labeled "Shauna GHBing."
On January 6, 2003, the trial court found the appellant had voluntarily absented himself from the trial and declared him a fugitive. Although his attorneys attempted to halt proceedings until he could be located, the Judge ruled that Luster would be tried in absentia, which is expressly permitted under Rule 43 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure when a defendant flees mid-trial.
The trial went ahead without him and on January 21, after two days of deliberations, the jury found Luster guilty of 86 of 87 charges against him (many of which had been added to California state law in the wake of the 1996 federal drug-induced sexual assault law) and deadlocked on a single poisoning charge.
Luster was convicted of 20 counts of drug-induced rape, 17 counts of raping an unconscious victim, and multiple counts of sodomy and oral copulation by use of drugs. Luster was sentenced to six years for each of the 20 counts of rape (to be served consecutively) and another four years for poisoning, for a total of 124 years in prison. Luster was also ordered to pay a $1 million fine.[1]
The California Court of Appeal refused the appeal his attorneys filed on his behalf, [2] ruling that as a fugitive from justice, Luster had forfeited his right to appeal. The California Supreme Court and the United States Supreme Court later refused to overturn this ruling.[3] [4][5]
Andrew Luster was caught in Mexico.
[edit] Flight from justice and capture
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During his flight, Luster found his way to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico where he lived under the assumed name David Carrera, surfing and partying. He was captured by bounty hunter Duane "Dog" Chapman, his son Leland Chapman, Tim Chapman, and two TV crewmen in a noisy scuffle on June 18, 2003 and was then taken into custody by Mexican authorities. The next day, Luster was returned to the U.S., and imprisoned.[6] Chapman was subsequently arrested for deprivation of liberty because bounty-hunting is prohibited by Mexican law, a charge that was ultimately dropped in August 2007.
[edit] Eligibility for parole
Luster is currently serving his prison sentence in Mule Creek State Prison in California. According to Maeve Fox, the deputy district attorney in Ventura County, California, who prosecuted the case, Luster will be eligible for parole in 104 years. Therefore, it is extremely unlikely that Luster will ever be released from prison. However, Luster did file a federal habeas corpus suit as the final possibility of getting his case reviewed by another Court on appeal. On December 6, 2007, U.S. Magistrate John C. Rayburn issued a report and recommendation to the US District Court to dismiss the action in its entirety. It is extremely rare for the US District court to disapprove of such recommendations. Thus, no legal avenues remain to challenge Mr. Luster's conviction. Mr. Luster's attorney in that matter, Stephen Yagman, is set to begin his own three year prison term for tax evasion in January 2008.[7][8]
[edit] Lawsuits
Two of the victims won civil lawsuits against Luster, who was ordered to pay a total of $39 million. The women's attorneys have been busy ever since trying to untangle the Luster/Factor family investments. Luster subsequently sold most of his property and declared bankruptcy. It remains unclear how much the victims will actually receive.[9]
[edit] Movie
After he vanished, a movie called A Date with Darkness: The Trial and Capture of Andrew Luster was made based on him and his victims. The film was supposed to end with a picture of the real Andrew Luster, asking the audience to notify authorities if they should see him. When Luster was finally captured, the film was still shooting. The ending was re-written to incorporate his capture.
[edit] Website
On July 18, 2003 the domain name andrewluster.net was registered by his mother, Elizabeth Luster. The website claimed Luster's conviction was a miscarriage of justice and contained the following text:
"Disclaimer: This web site is created by a group of concerned citizens for judicial fairness. All content (with the exception of family photographs and biography) are supplied by followers of the Andrew Luster case. None of the facts uncovered, conjecture, logic, nor observations, are supplied by anyone in the Luster, nor Factor family. No liability, nor responsibility is to be imposed, nor inferred to these families."
[edit] References
- ^ Andrew Luster, Max Factor heir and convicted rapist - the Crime Library - The Crime library
- ^ California Courts - Appellate Court Case Information
- ^ California Courts - Appellate Court Case Information
- ^ Docket for 03-854
- ^ FindLaw record of the Motion to Dismiss Appeal [1]
- ^ http://www.cnn.com/2003/LAW/06/19/max.factor.heir/ CNN site, "Max Factor heir returns to face prison term" (June 20, 2003)
- ^ CNN.com - Luster bounty hunter back in U.S. - Jul. 2, 2003
- ^ Andrew Luster, Max Factor heir and convicted rapist - the Crime Library - The Crime library
- ^ Andrew Luster, Max Factor heir and convicted rapist - the Crime Library - The Crime library
