Ex-Rams Cheerleader Pleads Not Guilty in Drug Case : Courts: Tracy Ann Donaho, accused of being a cocaine courier for cornerback Darryl Henley, has said she thought she was ferrying large sums of cash for him.

A former member of the Embraceable Ewes, the Los Angeles Rams cheerleading squad, made her first court appearance Monday after a federal indictment last week charged her with acting as a courier in a nationwide cocaine ring.

A nervous Tracy Ann Donaho, 20, pleaded not guilty in U.S. District Court and was kept out of custody after her father, a retired peace officer from Los Angeles County, signed a $25,000 surety bond that must be forfeited if she does not make appointed court appearances.

Last week, Donaho was charged with one felony count of cocaine possession and another felony count of conspiring to operate a narcotics network with several others, including Rams’ cornerback Darryl Henley.

Henley also pleaded not guilty to the same charges Friday during his initial court appearance and was released on $200,000 bail, despite fierce opposition by prosecutors.

The indictment alleges that Donaho transported cocaine-filled luggage on at least two trips through Southern California to the southern United States. Law enforcement officials say she and Henley were romantically linked during the time of her travels.

Donaho, who told authorities she thought she was transporting large sums of money, not narcotics, for Henley, was arrested at Atlanta’s airport in July and later released. She is said to be cooperating with the government in exchange for her testimony against Henley and others.

Donaho, wearing a lime-green dress and loop earrings, was accompanied in court Monday by her father and mother and said little during the proceedings.

She resigned as a member of the cheerleading squad shortly after her arrest in Atlanta.

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A pretrial services report recommended that Donaho not be taken into custody, and U.S. Magistrate Judge Ronald W. Rose agreed. Assistant U.S. Atty. John Rayburn argued for detention, but agreed to abide by the pretrial services recommendation as long as the government retained the right to request her incarceration in the future.

Donaho “has cooperated fully with pretrial services subsequent to her arrest and release in Atlanta,” said Stephan A. De Sales, Donaho’s attorney. “Her mother and father are both in court.”

After Donaho’s arraignment, De Sales declined to comment on any aspects of the case.

Henley and Donaho were among seven people named in the federal indictment last week, which include charges of extortion against three men already in jail. The three--Rafael Bustamante, Alejandro Figueroa Cuevas and James Timothy Saenz--are all accused of threatening to kill Henley for his alleged refusal to return money from a cocaine shipment.

Bustamante is identified in court documents as supplying cocaine to Henley for shipment. Through his attorneys, Henley has denied any connection to drugs.

Two other men are charged with the same conspiracy and cocaine possession counts as Henley and Donaho. Gary West, also known as Charles Williams, is in a Tennessee prison on an unrelated charge. Willie Haghey McGowan, of Duarte, Calif., was still at large Monday night.

All seven defendants are due in court this morning for a status conference on their cases. It is expected that attorneys for several of the defendants eventually will try to separate the cases into multiple trials as a way to split the drug charges and extortion allegations.

Henley, Donaho, West and McGowan face life prison terms and up to $8 million in fines on the drug charges. Bustamante, Cuevas and Saenz face up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine each on the extortion charges. Bustamante could also receive life if he is convicted on the drug charges.