PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Colt Lyerla, the one-time star tight end of the Oregon Ducks whose NFL career was cut short by injuries, was arrested again in Lane County on domestic violence and heroin charges.
Lyerla is accused of strangling and assaulting a woman on Monday, court documents obtained by KOIN 6 News revealed. He allegedly instilled fear into the woman, threw her to the floor and applied “pressure on the throat, neck or chest, or blocking the nose or mouth” of the woman.
He’s also accused of having “a usable quantity of heroin” at the time.
The 26-year-old faces 4 felonies and a misdemeanor: coercion, 2nd-degree assault, strangulation, menacing and heroin possession. At least one of these falls under Measure 11 sentencing minimums.
In December 2018, he was also arrested for heroin possesion and at that time was a convicted felon for escaping.
In April 2017 he was sentenced to 6 months in jail after pleading guilty to forgery. He was lodged at a minimum-security work release center. Police found Lyerla a day after the escape, overdosing on heroin at a Hillsboro home.
Once considered an NFL prospect, Lyerla left the Ducks in 2013 after he was suspended for violating team rules.
He was undrafted, then signed with the Green Bay Packers in 2014. But he injured his right knee in a pre-season practice and then was waived by the Packers.
