The New Mexico attorney general says Jerome Block Jr. has run out of chances.

One day after former Public Regulation Commissioner Block, 34, was jailed for a third time and booted from a Drug Court program, Attorney General Gary King said he will seek the maximum sentence of 4 1/2 years in prison for Block.

King's office brokered the plea deal in September that called for Block, who has admitted he is addicted to painkillers, to plead to several felony offenses, resign from his $90,000-a-year elected job with the PRC and never run for office again.

"On a personal level, [King] feels bad for Mr. Block because he wanted to see him clean himself up," said Phil Sisneros, King's spokesman. "But while he feels for him on a personal level, on a legal level, [Block] was given every opportunity and he wasn't able to take advantage of that. Now, we plan to seek the maximum [prison term] per the plea agreement."

At two different court hearings — Sept. 28 and Oct. 26 — Block pleaded guilty to various felony offenses including fraudulent use of a state-issued gas card, embezzling public funds during his 2008 campaign for office, identity theft and violations of campaign-finance laws.

The Attorney General's Office agreed to allow the court to put off final sentencing until Block either completed the Drug Court program or was dismissed from it. The plea agreement spelled out that the Attorney General's Office would not oppose a conditional discharge for Block if he successfully completed Drug Court, meaning he could have escaped having a felony record.

Now he faces a sentence ranging from probation to 4 1/2 years in prison.

Block has had three Drug Court violations — and was sent to jail three times for those violations — between Oct. 14 and Tuesday.

He will stay in the Santa Fe County jail without bond until state District Judge Michael Vigil decides to release him, an issue the judge declined to comment on Wednesday.

As of Wednesday, Block's attorney, Cammie Nichols of the Rothstein Law Firm, had not requested a release hearing, and the court had not yet scheduled a sentencing hearing for Block.

Nichols has not returned messages seeking comment on the case.

Because of the upcoming holiday vacation and an already busy court docket, Vigil said it is likely Block won't be sentenced until January.

Contact Geoff Grammer at 986-3076 or ggrammer@sfnewmexican.com. Read his blog at santafecrime.com.