ALBANY - Marquis Dixon, the Albany teen whose 9-year prison sentence for stealing sneakers drew criticism as being too harsh and was reversed by an appeals court that ruled he should have been considered for youthful offender status, faces a felony after he was accused of using a phony $20 to buy ice cream.

The 19-year-old's arrest on a forgery charge is the latest in a string of legal problems he's had since he was released from prison last year.

The incident happened on Thursday when, police said, Dixon used a counterfeit $20 to buy $14.24 worth of ice cream. Police said they later arrested Dixon at Frisbee Avenue and Garden Street, charging him with forgery and petit larceny.

Dixon was arraigned Friday morning by Albany City Court Judge Joshua Farrell and released on his own volition pending a preliminary hearing Tuesday.

Dixon's prosecution for stealing sneakers became a flashpoint in the fight for juvenile justice. He was sentenced in January 2015 to 9 years in prison for robbing another teen of a pair of sneakers. But Dixon's mother and activists decried the sentence and an appellate court reduced it to less than 3 years and ruled Dixon should have been considered for possible youthful offender status. His case was sealed.

But Dixon's freedom was short-lived.

In February, he was sent to the Albany County Jail on an undisclosed parole violation, marking the second time that has happened since he left prison last fall.

He also had another parole violation within days of his release from prison after the appellate court's decision that reduced his sentence to less than three years and gave him youthful offender status, sealing his case records.

The sneaker case got its start in March 2014 when Dixon, then 16, used Facebook to arrange a meeting with another teenager in a McDonald's parking lot on South Pearl Street.

Prosecutors said Dixon, who had troubles as a youth and had been under the jurisdiction of Family Court, was supposed to meet the other teenager to purchase a pair of sneakers, but that during the encounter he allegedly lifted his shirt and displayed what the victim said looked like a handgun. Dixon left with the sneakers without paying for them.

Police never found a weapon.