Leaf case in state dismissed

A lawyer for former NFL and Washington State quarterback Ryan Leaf says a fugitive action filed against Leaf in Whatcom County Superior Court in Washington state has been dismissed, the Associated Press reported Thursday.

The Whatcom County prosecutor had filed an interstate fugitive case against Leaf after the former quarterback was arrested by federal Customs agents as he crossed the border from Canada in mid-June on his way to face drug and burglary charges in Texas.

Leaf posted bond in Bellingham and continued on to Texas, where he pleaded not guilty to the charges there, posted bond and was given permission to return to his Vancouver, British Columbia, home.

Leaf had been ordered to return to Bellingham for a July 16 hearing, but his lawyer Jeffrey Lustick said that hearing has been canceled.

Lustick said the court action marks the end of Washington’s involvement in the Leaf case.

Baseball

Gonzaga University players Steven Ames and Tyson Van Winkle will forgo their senior seasons after signing professional contracts with the major league teams that drafted them last month.

Van Winkle, a catcher selected in the 10th round by the Arizona Diamondbacks, is playing for the Yakima Bears of the short-season Class A Northwest League. The Spokane Indians are completing a three-game series at Yakima tonight.

The Los Angeles Dodgers took Ames in the 17th round and have assigned the right-hander to the Ogden (Utah) Raptors of the rookie Pioneer League.