Randy Quaid and wife Evi released from jail in Vermont after judge changes mind [UPDATE]
UPDATE: The Santa Barbara, Calif., district attorney’s office is seeking to extradite actor Randy Quaid and his wife, Evi, after a Vermont judge ordered their release from custody there Thursday. “We were prepared for this possibility,” the district attorney’s office said in a statement. The office has begun the process of seeking a governor’s warrant, also known as an extradition warrant — a process that could take 60 to 90 days.
EARLIER: The actor Randy Quaid and his wife, Evi, were released from custody Thursday after a Vermont judge reversed course and dismissed charges against them.
Still wanted in California on vandalism and other charges, the Quaids had been held in Vermont for lack of $500,000 bail since Friday, when they were arrested trying to cross into the U.S. from Canada.
Judge Alison Arms initially reduced the Quaids’ bail to $50,000 each and said they must stay in Vermont if released from jail while facing fugitive charges, according to the Burlington Free Press. After a brief recess, however, the judge returned and said she found no probable cause to hold the couple.
In footage recorded by ABC News after the Quaids were released, Randy Quaid told reporters, “I’m glad that the judge was fair and she took the time to get her decision correct. … As far as the overall case back in California goes, we’ve always said that we’re innocent.”
The couple are wanted in Santa Barbara, Calif., on felony charges related to a 2010 incident in which they were found squatting in a guesthouse of their old home. They are charged with vandalism, unauthorized entry into a dwelling, and failure to appear in court.
