TORONTO (AP) - Actor Randy Quaid and his wife, Evi, remain in a Canadian jail despite being granted a release from custody last week after they were arrested on outstanding warrants in California, a Canadian border official said Tuesday.
The Quaids were arrested last Thursday in a shopping area of a posh Vancouver, British Columbia, neighborhood and were jailed on outstanding U.S. warrants related to vandalism charges. The Quaids are wanted in Santa Barbara, where they missed a court hearing Monday on felony vandalism charges.
The pair were ordered released from custody the next day during a detention review hearing on $9,750 bail and a promise to appear for their next hearing Thursday.
However, Canada Border Services Agency spokeswoman Shakila Manzoor told The Associated Press the Quaids remain in detention but would not disclose further details.
The Quaids’ lawyer, Brian Tsuji, declined to comment on why they remain in custody, abruptly ending the phone interview.
During their hearing last week, the couple told Canada’s immigration board they are being persecuted in the United States. Randy Quaid said he and his wife plan to apply for refugee status in Canada because the couple are seeking asylum from “the murderers of Hollywood.”
Evi Quaid begged a Canadian immigration adjudicator not to force them to return, saying their friends, such as actors David Carradine and Heath Ledger, have been “murdered” under mysterious circumstances and she worried something would happen to her husband next. Ledger died in January 2008 from an accidental overdose. Carradine was found dead, hanging from a rope, in a suite at a luxury Bangkok hotel. Neither actor’s death was ruled suspicious.
During a break in the proceedings, Tsuji approached the media to read a single-sentence statement from the Quaids.
“We are requesting asylum from Hollywood star whackers,” he read, and declined further comment on the mental state of his clients.
During last Friday’s hearing mandatory detention review, Evi Quaid also worried aloud about the fate of the couple’s dog during the hearing.
“When something like this happens and people have pets with them, any pets that accompany persons that are detained, are placed in the care of an animal shelter,” said Manzoor, who added that the pet was under the care of a Vancouver animal shelter.
Evi Quaid also said she’d be willing to wear an ankle bracelet while staying at a posh Vancouver hotel upon release from custody.
Randy Quaid said the couple came to Canada because he was being given an award by a film critics group. He said they were considering moving to Vancouver, where Randy planned to jump-start his career.
He called Canada a beautiful, welcoming nation. Randy Quaid has spent time in the country filming movies such as “Brokeback Mountain” in Alberta.
He said the pair believed the warrants were issued by mistake and had been withdrawn and the couple didn’t travel north in an effort to skip out on them.
The Quaids face no charges in Canada.
A U.S. judge issued arrest warrants last week for the couple after they failed to show up at a California court hearing stemming from their arrests last month on suspicion of illegally squatting at a home.
Quaid and his wife face felony vandalism charges after more than $5,000 in damage was found in a guest house of a Montecito, California home they had previously owned.
Santa Barbara County Senior Deputy District Attorney Lee Carter had said Randy Quaid and his wife’s bail increased to $500,000 apiece.
The Quaids frequently missed court appearances in an earlier U.S. case involving charges they defrauded an innkeeper. That case was resolved in April with Evi Quaid pleading no contest to a misdemeanor. The charges against her husband were dropped.
Randy Quaid, 60, is best-known for supporting roles in films such as “Independence Day” and “National Lampoon’s Vacation.” He is the older brother of Dennis Quaid.
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