Ryan Leaf still faces felony drug and burglary charges in Texas, but the former Washington State football star had fugitive charges in Whatcom County dropped on Thursday, according to his attorney.
Jeffrey Lustick, Leaf’s lawyer in Washington, said the charges — which arose when Leaf was arrested by U.S. Customs officers at the Canadian border — were dismissed in Whatcom County Superior Court in Bellingham.
Ryan Leaf, left, appears in the Whatcom County Superior Court jailroom court with attorney Jeffrey Lustick on June 17 after he was arrested at the U.S. border. (Philip A. Dwyer/Bellingham Herald)
Leaf was arrested June 17 on an outstanding criminal warrant issued in Randall County, Texas.
He has been charged with felony burglary and was indicted on seven counts of obtaining a controlled substance by fraud and one count of delivery of a simulated controlled substance in Texas, where he was working as an assistant football coach at West Texas A&M.
“Mr. Leaf was stopped and identified as a wanted individual while entering the U.S. traveling from his home in Vancouver, B.C.,” Lustick said in a statement. “Mr. Leaf was heading to SeaTac airport so he could fly to Texas and turn himself in.”
At a Whatcom County Superior Court hearing on the date of his arrest, Leaf refused to waive extradition, triggering a procedure requiring the State of Texas to pursue a Governor’s Warrant.
Whatcom County Senior Deputy Prosecutor Liz Gallery asked the court to impose up to $500,000 in bail. The court set bail at $45,000 bondable, which Leaf posted and was released.
The court had ordered Leaf to return for a July 16 hearing in Bellingham, but that is now canceled.
Lustick said Leaf spent less than four hours in Whatcom County Jail before leaving for Seattle and catching his flight to Texas.
“Today’s court action marks the end of Washington’s involvement in the Leaf case,” Lustick said. “Mr. Leaf’s bond has been exonerated and the case was dismissed. He will have no further court hearings in Washington State.”
The dismissal has no impact on the ongoing criminal proceedings in Texas. Leaf entered a not-guilty plea in Amarillo, Tex., on June 19 and posted a $15,000 bond, with the court giving him permission to return to his home in Vancouver, B.C., according to Lustick.
