Two sons of Duane “Dog the Bounty Hunter” Chapman have drawn national attention for serious legal matters in the past year. Biological son Garry Chapman, an Alabama patrol officer, was fired and then reinstated after a September 2025 high-speed chase ended in the death of a 17-year-old bystander. Stepson Gregory Zecca was charged in Florida with aggravated manslaughter after fatally shooting his own 13-year-old son while intoxicated.
Garry Chapman and the Alabama Police Chase
Garry Chapman, born in 2001 to Duane Chapman and his late wife Beth, was a patrol officer with the Priceville Police Department in northern Alabama when a September 6, 2025, traffic stop turned deadly. Officers tried to pull over Archie Hale on Interstate 65 near mile marker 329 for moving violations and suspected drunk driving. Hale refused to stop, and Chapman joined the pursuit.1WSAZ. Dog Bounty Hunter’s Son Fired From Police Department Following Deadly Pursuit Crash
The chase lasted nearly four minutes, crossed from Priceville’s jurisdiction into the city of Hartselle, and hit speeds above 100 miles per hour.2WAFF. Priceville Officer Fired After Deadly Chase Says He Was Wrongfully Terminated Around 8:30 p.m., Hale left the interstate onto Main Street in Hartselle and slammed into a minivan carrying four teenagers. Seventeen-year-old Tristan Hollis, who had no connection to the chase, died from his injuries. The three other teenagers were hospitalized.3Montgomery Advertiser. Son of Dog the Bounty Hunter Fired After Police Chase Kills Alabama Teen
Hale survived and was booked into the Morgan County jail on September 11, 2025, charged with murder, DUI, felony attempting to elude, possession with intent to distribute, reckless endangerment, and traffic violations. A judge denied him bond on September 16, 2025.4WAFF. Man Charged With Murder Following Deadly Morgan County Police Chase Denied Bond
Fired, Then Reinstated
Chapman had been hired at Priceville on January 28, 2025, less than eight months before the crash. His personnel file showed he had cycled through six different North Alabama law enforcement agencies over the prior three years, including the DeKalb and Jackson County sheriff’s offices and departments in Ider, Sylvania, and Guntersville. In his brief time at Priceville he had already received two written reprimands, one for administrative errors that led to a suspect being misidentified and another for calling a fellow officer an expletive over a recorded radio channel. The second reprimand also noted a “history of speeding.”5WHNT. Personnel File Details History of Former Priceville Police Officer
Police Chief Jerry Holmes concluded that Chapman had violated department pursuit policy by chasing Hale into downtown Hartselle at excessive speeds without adequately assessing the risk to civilians. The findings also said Chapman showed no remorse afterward.2WAFF. Priceville Officer Fired After Deadly Chase Says He Was Wrongfully Terminated He was terminated on September 22, 2025, and Mayor Sam Heflin upheld the decision.6WHNT. Priceville Police Officer Involved in Chase Ending in Deadly Crash No Longer Employed by Department
Chapman appealed. He insisted he had acted within the law and department policy, and his attorney Scott Morro said Chapman “followed the law, and he followed the policy.” Chapman also said he had notified his supervisor when the chase began and never received an order to stop.7People. Dog Bounty Hunter’s Cop Son Fired After Pursuit Crash That Killed Teen On October 14, 2025, the Priceville City Council voted unanimously to reinstate him with a 10-day unpaid suspension, work probation, and mandatory retraining under a supervisor.8WAFF. Priceville Police Officer Returning to Work After Being Fired Following Deadly Chase
Lawsuits and the Tristan Hollis Memorial Act
The Hollis family filed a wrongful death lawsuit in late October 2025 naming Hale, Chapman, and the City of Priceville. The families of the three surviving teenagers filed a separate civil suit against the same parties, seeking compensatory and punitive damages.9Yahoo News. Injured Teens’ Families Amend Lawsuit As of June 2026, a judge was reviewing a motion by the City of Priceville to be dismissed. The victims’ attorney, Will League, argued that even though Chapman was operating outside his jurisdiction, he was acting within the scope of his duties, making both the officer and the city liable.10WAFF. City of Priceville Tries to Exit Lawsuit Over Deadly Police Chase That Killed 17-Year-Old
The case also prompted legislation. State Senator Arthur Orr introduced Senate Bill 120, the Tristan Hollis Memorial Act, which would set statewide guidelines for police pursuits and restrict officers from initiating one absent probable cause of a violent crime. Orr cited Alabama’s ranking as second in the nation per capita for deaths caused by high-speed pursuits. SB 120 received a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in February 2026 but did not advance to a floor vote and was not enacted during the 2026 legislative session.11WAFF. New Bill Introduced to Put Statewide Guidelines on Police Pursuits12Alabama Reporter. Senate Committee Hears Public Input on Bill to Regulate Police Pursuits
Gregory Zecca and the Death of Anthony Zecca
Gregory Zecca, 39, is the son of Duane Chapman’s wife Francie, whom Duane married in 2021, which makes him Chapman’s stepson rather than a biological son. On the evening of July 19, 2025, Zecca and his 13-year-old son Anthony were watching a UFC fight at an apartment on Sumter Grove Way in East Naples, Florida. Collier County Sheriff’s Office investigators said Zecca had been drinking at a local bar for several hours before returning home, where he also consumed marijuana.13Court TV. Stepson of Dog the Bounty Hunter Charged in Son’s Shooting Death
Zecca told investigators he and Anthony were “playing with the guns,” practicing drawing firearms from holsters and dry-firing. Authorities said the gun had been rendered safe at one point by removing the magazine and clearing the chamber, but the magazine was later reinserted and a round was chambered. Zecca fired a single shot that struck and killed Anthony. A toxicology expert later estimated his blood-alcohol concentration at roughly 0.116 at the time of the shooting, above Florida’s legal limit of 0.08.14Naples Daily News. Gregory Zecca, Dog Bounty Hunter Stepson, Arrested in Death of Son
Zecca was initially placed on a psychiatric hold. On February 3, 2026, he was arrested on a Collier County warrant and charged with aggravated manslaughter of a child with a firearm and using a firearm while under the influence. He faces up to life in prison if convicted on the manslaughter charge.15WFLA. Florida Man Plays With Gun While Drunk, Fatally Shoots Teen Son
At a February 10, 2026, bond hearing, Collier County Circuit Judge Joseph Foster set bond at $500,000, with Duane and Francie Chapman expected to provide the funds. Assistant State Attorney Jennifer Brown raised Zecca’s criminal history, including a 2010 fraud conviction in Colorado and a 2014 Colorado arrest for child abuse involving Anthony, who was two years old at the time. Francie Chapman testified she had “just learned about the child abuse case.” Zecca was arraigned on March 2, 2026, and his defense attorney Donald Day said they would “work within the framework of the criminal justice system for a successful resolution.”14Naples Daily News. Gregory Zecca, Dog Bounty Hunter Stepson, Arrested in Death of Son
Earlier Legal Trouble in the Family
Duane Chapman has 13 biological children from six relationships, in addition to adopted and stepchildren, and legal matters have touched more than one generation.16People. All About Dog the Bounty Hunter’s Kids
Duane himself was convicted as an accomplice to first-degree murder in 1976 after a friend shot and killed a man during a drug deal in Texas, and he served time in the Texas State Penitentiary. Decades later, after capturing Max Factor heir Andrew Luster in Mexico, he and his son Leland were arrested in Hawaii in 2006 on charges related to that capture; the charges were eventually resolved.16People. All About Dog the Bounty Hunter’s Kids
Christopher Michael Hecht, Duane’s eldest son, was arrested in Colorado in 2008 on suspicion of assault and crimes against an at-risk adult. In 2021 he was sentenced to three years in a Colorado prison after a menacing conviction stemming from a 2020 arrest, with a scheduled release date of November 2023.16People. All About Dog the Bounty Hunter’s Kids
Garry Chapman was also named in a separate civil lawsuit filed on August 29, 2025, a week before the fatal chase. That case concerns the April 22, 2025, death of Decatur resident John Scott Jr., who allegedly died after being beaten and tased by law enforcement during a mental health crisis. The complaint names Chapman alongside several Decatur police officers and the Morgan County Sheriff’s Office. Priceville Mayor Heflin disputed the allegation, saying Chapman “was never at the scene or involved at all” and predicting he would be removed from the suit.17AL.com. Police Officer, Son of Reality TV Star, Sued in Alabama Beating Death a Week Before Fatal Chase