Not-Guilty Plea Entered in Drug Case Linking Rams Player

A former fugitive pleaded not guilty in federal court Thursday in the cocaine possession and conspiracy case involving Los Angeles Rams cornerback Darryl Henley and three others.

Willie Haghey McGowan, 30, of Duarte was captured last month in San Diego. McGowan was indicted in December along with Henley, former Rams cheerleader Tracy Donaho and two others as part of an alleged conspiracy to transfer cocaine shipments from Henley’s Brea home to drop-off points in Atlanta and Memphis, Tenn.

In the indictment, prosecutors allege that McGowan worked with Henley to distribute the cocaine, contending that he met with Donaho last July at Henley’s home and asked her to carry a suitcase of cocaine on a flight to Memphis.

Donaho has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to smuggle cocaine and is expected to cooperate with prosecutors at trial later this summer.