Surprise! Randy and Evi Quaid miss court date in Santa Barbara

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Randy and Evi Quaid failed to show in a Santa Barbara court Tuesday for arraignment on felony vandalism charges. A new arrest warrant was issued for Evi, whom the judge determined had no good reason to miss the hearing; one is on tap for Randy, effective Nov. 16, to allow him time to attend a Nov. 8 court date in Canada.

The Quaids’ lawyer was granted an hour delay around 9:40 a.m. Tuesday, but it wasn’t enough. The couple had posted $500,000 bail each to remain free after cruising to Canada and missing the original arraignment hearing on Oct. 18. Evi’s half-million dollars is now forfeited.

Saying they feared for their lives, the two requested Canadian asylum Oct. 22 after they were arrested earlier in the week in Vancouver, B.C., on the original Santa Barbara warrants. Evi was revealed last Wednesday to qualify as a Canadian citizen, but Randy’s status is under consideration.

Some experts have speculated that the Quaids may be suffering from folie a deux syndrome, also known as shared psychosis, in which two people who are closely related share the same delusion, ABC News reports.

Randy and Evi Quaid have maintained that they are in danger from ‘Hollywood star whackers,’

a conspiracy of business people who have been following them and ruining them financially — and also may have been behind the overdose of Heath Ledger, the hanging death of David Carradine and the accidental death of Natasha Richardson after she fell and hit her head while skiing. ‘We are refugees ... Hollywood refugees, seeking to be left alone by the criminals in America,’ Evi told ‘Good Morning America’ in an interview that aired Monday.

Though the state is considering extraditing the two from Canada, ABC said, no decision has been made. They face felony vandalism charges after allegedly living in and damaging a house they had owned years ago.

Quaid’s film resume includes ‘Independence Day, ‘National Lampoon’s Vacation’ and the critically acclaimed ‘Brokeback Mountain.’

— Christie D’Zurilla

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

[For the record, 2:35 p.m.: In an earlier version of this post, Heath Ledger’s first name was misspelled. Thanks to commenter @Arsenio Castro for the catch/cdz.]

Related dispatches from the Ministry of Gossip:

Randy and Evi Quaid fear for themselves -- and others

Evi Quaid is Canadian; Randy Quaid says he’s being hunted by killer accountants, estate planners

Randy and Evi Quaid ask Canada for asylum from ‘Star Whackers’

Bail for fugitives Randy and Evi Quaid raised dramatically after their arrest in Canada