KEY POINTS:
US Marshals have appealed to the American people for sightings or information on the fugitive Nai Yin Xue and concede he could be anywhere in the country.
A wanted poster has now been circulated and says Xue is armed and dangerous.
US Marshall and Commander of the Regional
Task Force Tom Hession said: "He's in our country. We want to get him and we're going to send him back to New Zealand".
Mr Hession was speaking to a variety of New Zealand, Australian and US journalists at a press conference at the US Marshals Command Centre in the Federal Court House in LA.
The press conference, fronted by Mr Hession and Superintendant Neville Matthews, police liaison officer in Washington, was ended abruptly after both men refused to answer questions on when the highly important Interpol red notice was issued to the US Marshals and LA authorities.
US authorities would not have known Xue was a high priority wanted man until the red notice had been activated in the US.
Chinese media asked Hession about a girlfriend from Xue's stay in 2000 called Kiu Yan Xu and whether the Marshals had been able to trace her.
Mr Hession confirmed that the Marshals had obtained the book - Ultimate Kung Fu Shocks US - in which Xue wrote about the lover.
But Hession would not say whether they had found her or not.
When asked about the "armed and dangerous" warning, Mr Hession said it was a "generic term" and they had no information that Xue was carrying a gun or weapon of any kind. However, he said it was known Xue was a Tai Chi expert and that poses a danger for his officers.
The American mainstream media questioned why the media conference had been called.
A reporter from NBC Television asked: "So there is squat? Are we just here to hold mics?"
A Chinese journalist asked Neville Matthews about what the reaction of the Chinese community in New Zealand had been to the police investigation which has been criticised for delays in finding Anan Liu's body.
Mr Matthews said he did not believe there was any problems but could not comment on individual's opinions.
Mr Hession was questioned on when Interpol's red notice was activated in the Los Angeles area.
Initially he declined to answer the question and later said he did not know.
FBI Agents
The FBI investigate potential violations of federal law including organised crime, terrorism, espionage, interstate criminal activity, drug trafficking, and other violations of Federal statutes.
US marshals and deputy marshals
Marshalls have the widest jurisdiction of any US law enforcement agency. The marshalls protect the Federal courts and ensure the effective operation of the judicial system. They hunt Federal fugitives and provide protection for the Federal judiciary, transport Federal prisoners and protect Federal witnesses.
- US Department of Labour
