Colt Lyerla

Updated at 5 p.m.

Former Oregon Ducks tight end Colt Lyerla was booked into jail Monday after police say he passed off counterfeit $50 bills and was carrying heroin, according to court documents.



Lyerla, 24, was arraigned Tuesday in Washington County Circuit Court on an unlawful possession of heroin charge. He was initially booked into the county jail on additional accusations of first-degree forgery and probation violation.



Lyerla was sentenced March 14 in Washington County to a year and a half of probation after a judge found him guilty in February of possessing heroin. He is next scheduled to appear in court on his latest charge on April 4.



According to a probable cause affidavit, a manager at a 7-Eleven in Hillsboro reported to police Sunday that a man paid for items with a fake $50 on Thursday then tried again Sunday. The customer left when a clerk refused to accept the bill.



The clerk told police the customer was very tall and appeared to have a wallet full of $50 bills, the affidavit said. An officer saw the surveillance footage and believed the customer's build, facial hair and tattoos looked similar to Lyerla.



The former college football player was a suspect in fake $50 bills being used as payment in other Washington County stores, the court papers said.



According to the affidavit, an officer took a lanyard from around Lyerla's neck during his arrest and a piece of paper flew out as he was taking a lighter out of the plastic mold. A black round substance inside the paper later tested positive for heroin, according to the affidavit.

Lyerla's criminal history includes a 2013 conviction in Lane County for cocaine possession. Charges related to a 2014 arrest in Washington County on suspicion of driving under the influence of intoxicants were later dismissed, court records show.

Lyerla was a standout athlete at Hillsboro High School and earned a spot on the the University of Oregon football team in 2011. He left the team in October 2013 after two seasons to pursue a career in the NFL.

He wasn't selected in the 2014 NFL Draft but later joined the Green Bay Packers as a free agent. He was released from the team that summer after injuring knee ligaments.

Lyerla later tried pursuing spots in the Arena Football League and pro rugby in France since then, but neither gig worked out.

-- The Oregonian