SANTA ANA : Ex-Ram’s Uncle Is Indicted in Drug Case

The uncle of former Los Angeles Rams cornerback Darryl Henley has been indicted by a federal grand jury for his role in a conspiracy to distribute cocaine from Henley’s Brea home to drop-off points in Georgia and Tennessee.

The indictment of Rex Henley, 30, who waived extradition from Texas and appeared in U. S. District Court in Santa Ana Wednesday for a detention hearing, brings to six the number of defendants charged with conspiring to operate an illicit drug network that involved cross-country cocaine shipments.

Three defendants, including one of those charged in the trafficking conspiracy, have also been charged with threatening Darryl Henley’s life in an attempt to extort $360,000 they say Henley owed them for a cocaine delivery.

All eight are scheduled to face trial together beginning next month.

The indictment alleges that Rex Henley helped package the cocaine in suitcases at his nephew’s Brea home, and gave the drugs to former Rams cheerleader Tracy Ann Donaho, who in turn would transport them to Atlanta and Memphis.

Donaho has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to smuggle cocaine and is said to be cooperating with prosecutors in their case against the others.

Assistant U.S. Atty. Deirdre Z. Eliot said Rex Henley has just been indicted because law enforcement officers have only recently developed new evidence linking him to the crimes. The indictment was handed down June 23.

At his detention hearing Wednesday, Rex Henley was not remanded to custody, but was ordered to post a $500,000 appearance bond.