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Quaid, 65, was arrested along with his wife, Evi, while
attempting to cross into the United States from Canada on
Saturday and are being held awaiting extradition on arrest
warrants outstanding in California, police said.
Quaid is wanted in California on charges related to a 2010
incident in which he and his wife entered a Santa Barbara,
California, building that the couple contends they legally owned
at the time. He faces charges of vandalism, unauthorized entry
into a dwelling and failure to appear for a court appearance in
California.
During a court appearance in St. Albans, Quaid said he had not
been informed ahead of time of the 2010 court proceeding, which
he said occurred while he was in Vancouver on a previously
scheduled trip.
"We heard about it through the Internet, that we'd missed this
court appearance," said Quaid, sporting long hair and a bushy
gray beard. His lawyer suggested the bail amount, based on an
outstanding bail order in California, was excessive.
He also offered a lengthy explanation of what he said was a bail
bondsman's mishandling of his California case.
"I don't disagree with you that $500,000 is high bail," Vermont
Superior Court Judge Alison Arms told Quaid. "However, this
court is considering the fact that this warrant was issued
almost exactly five years ago and that Mr. Quaid has been in
Canada that entire time."
Evi Quaid was also ordered held on a $500,000 bail in a separate
court appearance.
Randy Quaid is known for movies such as "The Last Picture Show"
and "The Last Detail," for which he received an Oscar
nomination, as well as the 1980s "Vacation" comedies. He is the
older brother of actor Dennis Quaid.
Arms declined to immediately rule on whether she had probable
cause to hold Quaid pending possible extradition to California,
after Vermont prosecutors said they were unable to produce more
details on the California charges due to Monday's Columbus Day
holiday. The judge gave them until Thursday to produce those
documents.
Evi Quaid is a dual U.S.-Canadian citizen, while Randy Quaid has
been seeking Canadian citizenship as the couple has lived in
Montreal for the past three years.
(Reporting by Scott Malone in Boston; Editing by David Alexander
and Sandra Maler)
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