Three Are Indicted in Henley Case

A federal grand jury in Los Angeles indicted three men Tuesday on charges of trying to extort at least $100,000 from Ram cornerback Darryl Henley with death threats.

The four-count indictment formally charges Rafael (Ralph) Bustamante, 28, of Rancho Cucamonga, James Saenz, 31, of Covina, and Alejandro Cuevas, 30, of West Covina with conspiracy to extort money from Henley.

A fourth man, Moises Heredia, 18, Bustamante’s half brother, had been arrested with the others in connection with the alleged plot, but was not indicted.

Bustamante has said that Henley owed him $350,000 in connection with a drug deal.

The indictment does not explain the nature of the $350,000 debt, but an affidavit by a Drug Enforcement Administration agent claimed that Bustamante financed a cocaine deal that went sour when authorities intercepted a Henley-recruited courier at Atlanta’s Hartsfield International Airport and the drugs were seized.

The affidavit claimed that a subsequent investigation revealed that Henley was “the source of the cocaine” that was being carried in a suitcase by Tracy Donaho, then a Ram cheerleader.

Attorneys for Henley and Donaho have said neither was involved in the cocaine shipment, and no criminal charges have been filed against either.

Tuesday’s indictment charges that Bustamante and Cuevas confronted Henley at gunpoint on Sept. 8 at the Rams’ training facility in Anaheim and demanded that he pay Bustamante what he allegedly owed. Bustamante reportedly jumped over a security fence at the park and took Henley’s 1992 Lexus.