Actor Randy Quaid, wife released from Vermont jail

ST. ALBANS, Vt. — Released from Vermont custody, actor Randy Quaid and his wife said Thursday they will now turn their attention to resolving 5-year-old criminal charges in California that they squatted in a home they once owned and vandalized the property.

A Vermont judge dismissed fugitive-from-justice charges against the couple and released them, citing discrepancies in some dates and saying she couldn’t find probable cause to support the accusations.

The Quaids are wanted in Santa Barbara, California, on felony charges filed in 2010 after they were found living in a guesthouse of a home they previously owned. Court papers said the Quaids damaged or destroyed furniture, a fireplace and a mirror. The couple fled to Canada and were arrested in Vermont last Friday while trying to re-enter the U.S.

After they left the courthouse Thursday, the Quaids said they’ll stay in Lincoln, Vermont, to care for Evi Quaid’s ailing father and address the California charges. She grew up in Vermont.

“I never worried about being found guilty or any of that for any of these charges because I know the truth, and I know the facts are going to come out at some point, and today was a good sign of that,” Randy Quaid said.

“And we’re still going to have to deal with the California situation,” the Quaids’ lawyer, Peter Langrock, said. “And we plan to, not as a fugitive from justice but the standpoint of a citizen.”

The Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment after the Vermont proceedings.

Outside court, Randy Quaid spoke about his stay in jail. He told reporters he was on a wing with three other men, and they all got along and played a lot of cribbage and Sudoku.

“The food wasn’t so bad,” he said.

The Quaids said they were pleased to be in Vermont, and he joked about possibly becoming a firefighter.

“I knew the people of Vermont, the judge and this lawyer would understand our situation,” said Evi Quaid.

In court, Langrock argued for the couple’s release saying that Evi Quaid was threatened by a fellow inmate, who put feces in her cell.

Judge Alison Arms reduced bail for the couple from $500,000 each to $50,000 on a fugitive-from-justice charge that the Quaids failed to appear in court in California. She said she didn’t find probable cause to support fugitive-from-justice charges related to the California vandalism and squatting counts.

But after reviewing her decision during a short break, the judge called the Quaids back into court and said she had to release them. She said she could not find probable cause to support any of the charges because of a discrepancy in dates in paperwork from California.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

Lynnwood
Crash in Lynnwood blocks Highway 99 south

The crash, on Highway 99 at 176th Street SW, fully blocked southbound lanes. Traffic was diverted to 168th Street SW.

The view of Mountain Loop Mine out the window of a second floor classroom at Fairmount Elementary on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
County: Everett mining yard violated order to halt work next to school

At least 10 reports accused OMA Construction of violating a stop-work order next to Fairmount Elementary. A judge will hear the case.

Imagine Children's Museum's incoming CEO, Elizabeth "Elee" Wood. (Photo provided by Imagine Children's Museum)
Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett to welcome new CEO

Nancy Johnson, who has led Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett for 25 years, will retire in June.

Kelli Littlejohn, who was 11 when her older sister Melissa Lee was murdered, speaks to a group of investigators and deputies to thank them for bringing closure to her family after over 30 years on Thursday, March 28, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘She can rest in peace’: Jury convicts Bothell man in 1993 killing

Even after police arrested Alan Dean in 2020, it was unclear if he would stand trial. He was convicted Thursday in the murder of Melissa Lee, 15.

Ariel Garcia, 4, was last seen Wednesday morning in an apartment in the 4800 block of Vesper Dr. (Photo provided by Everett Police)
Search underway to find missing Everett child, 4

Ariel Garcia was last seen Wednesday morning at an apartment in the 4800 block of Vesper Drive.

The rezoned property, seen here from the Hillside Vista luxury development, is surrounded on two sides by modern neighborhoods Monday, March 25, 2024, in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Despite petition, Lake Stevens OKs rezone for new 96-home development

The change faced resistance from some residents, who worried about the effects of more density in the neighborhood.

Rep. Suzan DelBene, left, introduces Xichitl Torres Small, center, Undersecretary for Rural Development with the U.S. Department of Agriculture during a talk at Thomas Family Farms on Monday, April 3, 2023, in Snohomish, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Under new federal program, Washingtonians can file taxes for free

At a press conference Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene called the Direct File program safe, easy and secure.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.