By Gary Harmon
Friday, August 20, 2010
A man who failed several times to appear in Mesa County District Court is lodged in Mesa County Jail on a $1 million bond after he was taken into custody by Duane Chapman, television’s "Dog the Bounty Hunter." Chapman delivered Eric Ludwick, 36, to the Montrose County Jail on Thursday. Chapman "just showed up with somebody," said Amber Davis, a Montrose County custody-support assistant. "We didn’t believe it at first." Chapman dropped Ludwick off at the jail in Montrose, which shipped him Friday to Mesa County, where he eventually will see Mesa County District Judge Brian Flynn. Ludwick "continues to fail to go to court, and Judge Flynn doubles his bond every time he misses it," Mesa County Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman Heather Benjamin said. Mesa County authorities arrested Ludwick on April 9 after they were called to the area of 22 Road near Interstate 70, where they found a woman who told them Ludwick had rammed her vehicle, causing about $10,000 in damage, and then rammed his vehicle into a power pole, causing $5,000 in damage. Ludwick’s original charges included felony counts of menacing and criminal mischief and misdemeanor counts of reckless driving and reckless endangerment.