Ryan Leaf indicted on drug and burglary charges
Former NFL QB suspected of stealing painkiller
The Associated Press
11:32 PM EDT, May 21, 2009
CANYON, Texas - Former Washington State University and NFL quarterback Ryan Leaf has been indicted by a Randall County grand jury on drug and burglary charges.
The indictment handed up Wednesday in Canyon charged the 33-year-old former San Diego Chargers quarterback and former West Texas A&M quarterbacks coach with one count of burglary to a habitation, seven counts of obtaining a controlled substance by fraud and one count of delivery of a simulated controlled substance.
The indictment said Leaf presented an incomplete medical history to several physicians between January 2008 and September 2008 to get or try to obtain the painkiller Hydrocodone.
It was not clear whether Leaf had an attorney.
Canyon police Lt. Dale Davis said Leaf is suspected of breaking into a Canyon apartment on Oct. 30 and stealing Hydrocodone, which had been prescribed to an injured football player.
"There were signs of a forced entry," Davis said. "A window in the back of the home was (damaged)."
The count of delivery of a simulated controlled substance alleges Leaf gave an individual a substance he said was Hydrocodone but was not that drug.
James Farren, Randall County criminal district attorney, said Leaf has been undergoing drug rehabilitation in British Columbia, the Amarillo Globe-News reported.
Farren told the newspaper that efforts were under way to try to persuade Leaf to return to the United States on his own.
"We have not found any evidence implicating anyone other than Mr. Leaf in this case ... but believe there's additional evidence implicating him in other events," Farren said. He would not elaborate.
Leaf, a Great Falls, Mont., native, led Washington State to the Pacific-10 Conference championship and Rose Bowl appearance. The Chargers made him the second pick of the 1998 NFL draft. He played for the Chargers from 1998-2000 and also played for the Dallas Cowboys in 2001. He threw for 3,666 yards and 14 touchdowns in his career.
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