Ryan Leaf's jail time extended to up to 30 days (3 PICS)

Former NFL QB Ryan Leaf arrested on burglary, theft & drug charges. (Inset) Eric Olson, left, defense attorney for Ryan Leaf, stands in Cascade County District Judge Dirk Sandefure as Leaf makes an initial appearance via video link Monday afternoon in Great Falls.

Ryan Leaf will stay in jail for 30 days at the most while probation officials in Great Falls and Randall County, Texas move ahead to get his probation revoked.

Dawn Handa, regional administrator of the Great Falls Probation and Parole Office of the Montana Department of Corrections, said the 30-day hold is a procedural move that gives authorities the time they need to send information between states.

“That gives us the time to gather and send the required paperwork to Texas,” Handa said.

In the wake of two arrests on drug and burglary charges in Great Falls in a three-day span, the district attorney’s office and the adult probation office in Randall County both have indicated that they intend to revoke Leaf’s 10-year suspended sentence that he received in 2010. The former NFL quarterback had pleaded guilty to drug related charges he received while coaching at West Texas A&M in Canyon.

In order to start the revocation proceedings, Texas needs the paperwork stemming from Leaf’s recent Great Falls arrests. Once that process starts, a judge in Randall County likely will file a bench warrant requesting that Leaf appear in the Lone Star State.

Once Leaf is no longer bound to the procedural hold, he will be able to be released on bond, but under strict supervision, Handa said.

Eric Olson, left, defense attorney for Ryan Leaf, stands in Cascade County District Judge Dirk Sandefure as Leaf makes an initial appearance via video link Monday afternoon in Great Falls. Leaf, the former C.M. Russell and Washington State football standout and NFL quarterback, was charged with criminal possession of dangerous drugs and burglary. Leaf was arrested on Monday after allegedly breaking into a mobile home north of Great Falls on Sunday. 

Cascade County District Judge Dirk Sandefur has set Leaf’s bond amount at $76,000, which Leaf already posted after his first arrest on Friday.

The hearing to revoke Leaf’s sentence probably won’t start until the charges against him in Great Falls are resolved, according to Randall County District Attorney James Farren.

“Montana has custody of him, so they have first dibs,” Farren said.

Leaf's weekend of troubles worsened early Monday when investigators arrested the former NFL quarterback for a second time on burglary, theft and drug possession charges, escalating his chances of facing prison time for violating probation he received in Texas two years ago.

The Probation and Parole Office of the Montana Department of Corrections ordered Leaf to a no-bond 72-hour hold after the second arrest, giving his supervisors here and in Texas time to decide how to proceed in his case.