Ex-WSU quarterback Leaf charged with four felonies

HELENA – Former NFL quarterback Ryan Leaf has been formally charged with four felonies on accusations that he broke into an acquaintance’s home to steal prescription painkillers, then robbed a second home two days after being released from jail.

Cascade County Attorney John Parker charged Leaf with two counts of burglary and two counts of criminal possession of a dangerous drug in court documents filed Thursday but only available on Friday.

If convicted, Leaf, the former Washington State quarterback, faces a maximum prison sentence of 20 years on each burglary charge and five years for each possession charge.

An arraignment has not been scheduled. A message left with Leaf’s attorney in Great Falls was not returned Friday afternoon.

Leaf is jailed without bond on a 30-day hold while Montana and Texas authorities exchange information on whether the Montana arrest violates the terms of his probation from a 2010 plea deal in Texas.

In the Texas case, Leaf was accused of burglarizing a player’s home while he was a quarterbacks coach for Division II West Texas A&M and an investigation turned up that Leaf had obtained nearly 1,000 pain pills from pharmacies.

James Farren, the district attorney for Randall County in Texas, said late Friday that his office has received adequate details from Montana authorities and will file a motion to revoke Leaf’s probation on Monday.

Leaf is likely to face the Montana charges before being returned to Texas on the parole violation charge.

“It’s my understanding that Texas will wait until the Montana case has been resolved,” Parker said.

The charging documents filed Thursday offer more details to the allegations against the ex-quarterback. They say that Leaf’s arrest was the culmination of a monthlong investigation by the Central Montana Task Force that began when Great Falls postal workers tipped authorities that Leaf was receiving frequent packages and paying more than $500 cash on delivery for each.

Task force officers and Leaf’s parole officer confronted Leaf on March 30. After initially denying receiving anything other than an herbal supplement from Florida, he eventually admitted that he received 10 packages, the charging documents said.

Authorities then searched Leaf and his truck, finding two pill containers in a golf bag with Leaf’s name. One contained 28 oxycodone pills, while the other was empty with a prescription label in the name of an acquaintance of Leaf’s.