Jeff Dubay, the former KFAN sports-talk radio personality, landed back in the slammer Tuesday after he proved once again that he can't stay away from cocaine.

According to documents filed in Ramsey County District Court, Dubay's court-ordered drug tests came back positive for cocaine on Nov. 3, Dec. 3 and Dec. 30. He admitted to probation officials that he used drugs on Oct. 6 and 28 and Dec. 2 and 30.

Dubay had been sentenced by District Judge Joanne Smith in late July to 180 days in the county workhouse. He was released to begin a sentence-to-service program on Oct. 6, but instead began an in-patient drug-treatment program at Prodigal House in Minneapolis on Nov. 9.

He was twice given second chances there, but when a third drug test came back positive, he was terminated from the program on Dec. 30. An arrest warrant was issued the next day.

At his probation violation hearing Tuesday, Smith could have sent Dubay, who lives in Plymouth, to prison for a year and a day. Instead, she ordered that he serve the remaining 88 days of his original 180 days in the workhouse and imposed another consecutive 90-day sentence. The prison sentence still hangs over his head.

The latest violation was at least the third strike for Dubay, according to court records.

He was arrested Oct. 15, 2008, in Maplewood. While being pursued by police, he threw a plastic bag out of his car that contained a small amount of cocaine. He was fired by KFAN shortly thereafter. He had been co-host of the midday show with Paul Allen for 10 years.

He was charged with fifth-degree drug possession, a felony, and entered a yearlong diversion program that could have ended with the charge being the dismissed if he did community service and had no run-ins with the law. He flunked out of that program, but was accepted into the Substance Abuse Court in March, according to records. He flunked out of that, too.

A report from probation officer Laurie Theissen addressed his time at Prodigal House: "According to Mr. Dubay's treatment counselor, the defendant appeared to just be going through the motions ... and did not seem to put forth real effort into making the changes necessary to living a life free of chemicals."

Pat Pheifer • 612-741-4992