LUBBOCK, Texas -- The Texas prosecutor who brokered a 10-year probationary sentence for former NFL quarterback Ryan Leaf said Tuesday he is working on a plea deal that would allow the Montana native to serve his sentence in his home state.
Randall County District Attorney James Farren said he'll seek a seven-year sentence against Leaf for violating terms of his probation when he was arrested for drug possession in Montana last year. A Texas judge would have to approve the deal.
Leaf, a Heisman Trophy finalist at Washington State, spent four seasons in the NFL after being chosen No. 2 in the 1998 draft - behind Peyton Manning - by the San Diego Chargers. He retired after four dismal seasons, finishing his career with 14 touchdowns and 36 interceptions.
Leaf, who coached quarterbacks at West Texas A&M in Canyon until late 2008, said he was introduced to heavy-duty painkillers following surgeries on his shoulders, knees and wrists, and he realized he was addicted in March 2008. He was accused of presenting an incomplete medical history to physicians in 2008 in his quest to get the painkiller Hydrocodone, and of forcing his way into an apartment to steal the drug that had been prescribed to an injured football player.
Leaf got probation after pleading guilty to eight felony drug charges in 2010. But after moving back to his home state, he is now in a Montana prison after being kicked out of a drug treatment program. He pleaded guilty last May to burglary and drug possession.
Farren said the Texas sentence and one Leaf is serving in Montana would run concurrently.
Leaf got five years in Montana. Leaf's defense attorney in Texas, Bill Kelly, said there are procedural hoops still to be negotiated and that he and Farren hadn't yet discussed specifics.
Leaf will remain in the state prison until at least June 30, when he becomes eligible for parole, a Montana prison official said.
Copyright 2013 by The Associated Press
