Former WSU star Ryan Leaf kicked out of drug treatment center
HELENA, Mont. (AP) - Former NFL quarterback Ryan Leaf has been moved from a drug treatment center to the Montana State Prison for threatening a staff member and other unspecified behavioral problems at the center, a corrections official said Thursday.
The former San Diego Chargers and Washington State Cougars quarterback was charged last spring with breaking into two houses and stealing prescription painkillers near his hometown of Great Falls. He pleaded guilty in May to reduced charges, and his five-year sentence called for spending nine months in a locked drug treatment facility as an alternative to prison.
Leaf said then that he was looking forward to the treatment at Nexus Treatment Center in Lewistown. But on Thursday, the Montana Department of Corrections released a statement by Great Falls regional probation and parole administrator Dawn Handa that said Leaf will now serve his sentence in the Deer Lodge prison.
"The Montana Department of Corrections terminated Leaf from the treatment program and placed him in prison after he was found guilty of behavior that violated conditions of his drug treatment program. The violations included threatening a program staff member," Handa said in the statement.
Corrections officials did not immediately respond to a request for details of the violations or the threats.
Leaf's attorney, Kenneth Olson, did not immediately return a call for comment.
It was unclear when the threats or other behavior issues occurred. The Department of Corrections' website listing offenders says Leaf has been an inmate since Jan. 10.
The Great Falls Tribune first reported Leaf's imprisonment Thursday.
James Farren, the district attorney in the Texas county where Leaf was given probation in a plea agreement for drug charges in 2010, said his office will move to bring Leaf back to Randall County, where he could stand trial.
If Leaf ends up getting prison time from a judge in Texas, he would return to Montana to serve out his time there. He would get credit for his Montana prison time in Texas, Farren said.
Farren said he gave Leaf a chance with the Texas plea deal. The Montana courts gave him another chance, he said.
"It doesn't matter how many chances he gets," Farren said.
Leaf was the No. 2 pick in the 1998 NFL draft, but his short-lived pro career earned him the reputation as one of the biggest busts in NFL history.
An investigation began in March 2011, after Great Falls postal workers reported they were suspicious of frequent packages Leaf received by paying COD charges of $500.
Central Montana Drug Task Force officers and Leaf's parole officer confronted the former quarterback and found a container with 28 oxycodone pills inside and another container with a prescription made out to an acquaintance.
The acquaintance said Leaf had entered his home without permission, and Leaf was arrested.
Shortly after his release, two Cascade County residents told authorities they found Leaf inside their home.
The couple reported three different prescription medications missing.
The former San Diego Chargers and Washington State Cougars quarterback was charged last spring with breaking into two houses and stealing prescription painkillers near his hometown of Great Falls. He pleaded guilty in May to reduced charges, and his five-year sentence called for spending nine months in a locked drug treatment facility as an alternative to prison.
Leaf said then that he was looking forward to the treatment at Nexus Treatment Center in Lewistown. But on Thursday, the Montana Department of Corrections released a statement by Great Falls regional probation and parole administrator Dawn Handa that said Leaf will now serve his sentence in the Deer Lodge prison.
"The Montana Department of Corrections terminated Leaf from the treatment program and placed him in prison after he was found guilty of behavior that violated conditions of his drug treatment program. The violations included threatening a program staff member," Handa said in the statement.
Corrections officials did not immediately respond to a request for details of the violations or the threats.
Leaf's attorney, Kenneth Olson, did not immediately return a call for comment.
It was unclear when the threats or other behavior issues occurred. The Department of Corrections' website listing offenders says Leaf has been an inmate since Jan. 10.
The Great Falls Tribune first reported Leaf's imprisonment Thursday.
James Farren, the district attorney in the Texas county where Leaf was given probation in a plea agreement for drug charges in 2010, said his office will move to bring Leaf back to Randall County, where he could stand trial.
If Leaf ends up getting prison time from a judge in Texas, he would return to Montana to serve out his time there. He would get credit for his Montana prison time in Texas, Farren said.
Farren said he gave Leaf a chance with the Texas plea deal. The Montana courts gave him another chance, he said.
"It doesn't matter how many chances he gets," Farren said.
Leaf was the No. 2 pick in the 1998 NFL draft, but his short-lived pro career earned him the reputation as one of the biggest busts in NFL history.
An investigation began in March 2011, after Great Falls postal workers reported they were suspicious of frequent packages Leaf received by paying COD charges of $500.
Central Montana Drug Task Force officers and Leaf's parole officer confronted the former quarterback and found a container with 28 oxycodone pills inside and another container with a prescription made out to an acquaintance.
The acquaintance said Leaf had entered his home without permission, and Leaf was arrested.
Shortly after his release, two Cascade County residents told authorities they found Leaf inside their home.
The couple reported three different prescription medications missing.
Ryan Leaf and drug issues reminds me of Art Schlicter and his gambling issues. Both are in prison, even years later. After repeated attempts to give them "another chance", they still manage to screw it up. both were star QBs in college and both went on to the NFL. How much more can they be coddled?
The only good thing about Leaf is his bad play allowed the Chargers to get Marty Schottenheimer, Drew Brees, and LaDainian Tomlinson. Â
This guy is bound and determined to self destruct... and he will.
@I812 He has.
Hmmm..I wonder if he yelled "KNOCK IT OFF! When he threatened the Treatment Center Staff Members. Wow..how sick and how stupid does one have to be, to not be able to keep it together for 9 months, in order to keep from having to go to prison for possibly 5 years or more? What a mess this guy is. And Oregon used to let him come down and walk the sidelines during games? I wonder how many pills he pilfered when the trainers weren't looking. Sheesh..what jacked up deal.