Police search for Madonna stalker (From Chorley Citizen)

Police search for Madonna stalker

4:15am Friday 10th February 2012 in Entertainment News © Press Association 2011

Police in the US are searching for a man convicted of threatening to kill Madonna who walked away from a Los Angeles-area mental hospital last week.

Los Angeles police said Robert Dewey Hoskins left a state hospital where he had been committed last year.

Police said in a news release that the 54-year-old is "highly psychotic" and can be extremely violent, and should not be approached by members of the public.

Hoskins served a 10-year prison sentence for stalking and threatening Madonna, and court records show he was convicted of vandalism in July 2011.

The singer testified against him during his 1996 trial.

Police said they have searched areas where Hoskins may try to go, including the city of Long Beach, which is south of Los Angeles.