A court ruling over competing claims to convicted rapist Andrew Luster's forfeited $1 million bail yesterday divided the funds among Luster, his victims and the county. None went to Duane "Dog" Chapman, the bounty hunter who capture him.

Unfair. The Judge awarded $165,000 in costs related to Luster's capture to those who failed to capture him. Dog did the dirty work. He should have had his costs reimbursed as well.

Brodie reissued what he had awarded county agencies in August -- about $165,000 for costs accrued trying to capture Luster. The Ventura County Sheriff's Department collected about $86,200 for time spent by five detectives and costs for monitoring cell phones and towing Luster's abandoned car.

The county Probation Agency was given about $9,400 for labor costs and an electric ankle monitoring device attached to Luster that was never returned. The District Attorney's Office will get just over $65,500 for investigative costs.

The victims and the state owe a debt of gratitude to Dog. We think they should chip in and reimburse Dog for the costs he expended from his own funds.

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