Drug Ring Has Husky Connection : Washington: One football player and three former athletes are charged.

A University of Washington football player and three former Husky athletes were among eight people charged with selling cocaine or marijuana Tuesday in Seattle, adding another element of controversy for the Pacific 10 Conference’s Rose Bowl representative.

Danianke Smith, a reserve linebacker from Long Beach, was charged with five counts of selling cocaine or marijuana, according to a criminal complaint filed in King County Superior Court. According to authorities, some of Smith’s drug dealing occurred in a campus dormitory in which football players live.

Also charged with selling cocaine were Doug Meekins, a former Husky basketball star from Los Angeles; Bernard Ellison, a former member of the school’s track team, and James Goodwin, a former Husky football player.

Four other persons, none apparently tied to the school, were charged with the athletes.

Authorities said the charges were the result of a seven-month narcotics investigation conducted by Seattle police.

According to Dan Donohoe, a spokesman for the King County prosecuting attorney, Norm Maleng, the investigation is continuing.

Two weeks ago, the school declared quarterback Billy Joe Hobert ineligible because of $50,000 in loans he had received from the father-in-law of a friend. A joint investigation by the university and the Pac-10 found that the loans violated NCAA rules because they were based in part on Hobert’s potential as a professional athlete.

Washington Athletic Director Barbara Hedges said Tuesday that Smith, a senior, also has been suspended from the football team because of the drug charges.

The Huskies will play Michigan Jan. 1 in the Rose Bowl, the game marking Washington’s third consecutive Rose Bowl appearance.

Smith, a graduate of Long Beach Poly High, has played in seven games this season, mainly as a reserve. He started Washington’s game against California.

“From a football coach’s perspective, the use of drugs by athletes is frightening,” Husky Coach Don James said at a campus news conference Tuesday. “Even more frightening is having a seller on your team. It’s a thing that would scare you the most.”

Some of the alleged deals in which Smith was involved were arranged in the Washington crew house, where some football players live.

Also, according to court records, Smith told customers to use his uniform number--55--when calling his pager.

Meekins, a forward from Crenshaw High, was the Huskies’ second-leading scorer as a senior last season. He was Washington’s leading scorer as a junior, and his picture was on the cover of the Huskies’ 1991-92 press guide.

Meekins was charged with four counts of selling cocaine.

Seattle police said they found 220 grams of cocaine, valued at $22,000, in Meekins’ Seattle home during a search of the residence Monday. According to court records, Meekins admitted to police that he possessed the cocaine with the intention of selling it.

Meekins was enrolled at the university at the time of his arrest, according to the Washington sports information department.

Goodwin, a former walk-on linebacker, was charged with one count of selling cocaine. Ellison, who finished second in the intermediate hurdles at the 1991 Pac-10 track meet, faces two counts.

Each of the cocaine charges carries a maximum prison sentence of 10 years.

Smith, Meekins and Ellison were being held Tuesday in the King County Jail. Bail for Smith was set at $250,000. Goodwin was not being held.

Maleng said that Smith became the focus of the investigation after a student contacted Seattle police with information concerning alleged drug dealing by current and former Washington athletes. Maleng said that the student--not a member of the Washington football team--agreed to assist police by making drug buys and introducing an undercover officer to the alleged drug dealers.

Some of the alleged transactions were recorded on audiotape and videotape, according to court records.

The amounts of cocaine involved in the alleged deals ranged from a quarter of an ounce to two ounces.

Authorities said they made the arrests Monday after a deal in which Smith allegedly would have sold a kilo of cocaine to the undercover officer for $19,000 fell through.

According to court records, Smith told the officer that the large amount of cocaine could be provided by an unnamed former Washington athlete who “made a run to California every other weekend to obtain three or four kilos.”