Effort to extradite Quaids fail

Santa Barbara - A California prosecutor says US officials have refused to request the extradition of actor Randy Quaid and his wife from Canada to face felony vandalism charges.

Authorities in Santa Barbara had been seeking the return of the couple for months. Senior Deputy District Attorney Lee Carter says the US State Department notified him last week that it would not pursue extradition.

The Quaids were arrested in September in the coastal city and accused of causing more than $5 000 in damage to a home they once owned. They were no-shows at several court hearings and were later arrested in Vancouver, where the actor sought asylum from a group he dubbed "Hollywood star-whackers".

Carter says the Independence Day actor and his wife can be arrested if they return to the United States.