July 17, 2000: Andrew Luster, 36, of Mussel Shoals, is arrested after a Santa Barbara woman tells police that he gave her a date-rape drug July 15 and then sexually assaulted her.

July 21: More rape victims come forward. The allegations against him now include sexual assault, drug and illegal weapons charges, as well as kidnapping with intent to commit rape and illegal videotaping. He is in Ventura County Jail with no bail.

July 24: Luster is charged with 21 counts of sexual assault and other crimes. Bail is set at $1 million.

July 26: Prosecutors file 19 more charges. Superior Court Judge Arturo Gutierrez raises his bail to $10 million.

Aug. 1: Luster pleads not guilty to 40 counts of drugging and raping women. He remains in jail.

Dec. 14: Luster's attorneys argue his $10 million bail should be lowered so he can live at home under house arrest until his court date.

Dec. 20: Superior Court Judge Bruce Clark approves the conditions of Luster's release from jail. It comes after a decision the week before by the 2nd District Court of Appeal to lower Luster's bail to $1 million.



Luster is confined to his home and monitored electronically; subject to searches and random drug tests without reasonable cause; barred from contacting his alleged victims; and prohibited from using drugs or alcohol.

July 16, 2001: Luster pleads not guilty to charges he drugged and raped three women and videotaped the encounters with two of them.

Dec. 16, 2002: Luster's trial on 87 rape and drugging counts gets under way. If found guilty, he faces 150 years in prison.

December: Judge Ken Riley extends the hours Luster can be away from his home during the trial’s Christmas break. Lusteer is permitted to be away from home from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Jan. 3, 2003: Luster leaves his house at 8 a.m., as is permitted under the terms of his house arrest. He is not seen again.

Jan. 6: Judge Ken Riley declares Luster a fugitive and revokes his bail. His trial proceeds without him.

Jan. 15: Luster's dog is found at his mother's Sonoma home.

Jan. 19: Luster's Toyota 4Runner is discovered abandoned in Santa Monica.

Jan. 21: Jury finds Luster guilty of 86 of 87 counts.

Feb. 18: Judge Ken Riley sentences Luster to 124 years in prison and ordered him to pay $1 million restitution, one of the largest amounts ever in Ventura County.

April: Luster’s attorney, Roger Diamond of Los Angeles, files an appeal.

May: The state Attorney General’s Office files a motion to dismiss the appeal, saying Luster had no such rights because he was a fugitive.

June 10: The 2nd District Court of Appeal, 6th Division, in Ventura rules that Luster cannot appeal his conviction while he remains at large.

June 18: Luster is arrested in a nightclub in Puerta Vallarta, Mexico, along with several bounty hunters attempting to capture him.