Henley Witness Admits Seeking Leniency : Courts: Prosecutors, however, deny defense claims that Tracy Ann Donaho is trying to curry favor to avoid prison.

A key prosecution witness in the federal drug-trafficking trial of Rams cornerback Darryl Henley admitted in court Wednesday that she is hoping for a light sentence after she finishes testifying against Henley and his four co-defendants.

Former Rams cheerleader Tracy Ann Donaho, who has pleaded guilty to a drug conspiracy charge, also admitted under pointed questioning from defense attorneys that she lied to friends and family about her relationship with Henley in the months surrounding her July, 1993, arrest.

“You don’t want to go to jail, do you?” asked defense attorney James Riddet, who is representing Henley’s cousin, Rex, in the case.

“No, I don’t,” said Donaho, 21.

“You know the judge will decide your sentence later and that it will be based in part on the recommendation of the prosecution? . . . That recommendation is very important to you, isn’t it?” Riddet asked.

“Yes, it is,” Donaho said softly.

Defense attorneys are seeking to convince jurors that Donaho’s four days of testimony about the defendants is not credible because she is trying to curry favor with prosecutors in order to avoid prison.

Donaho has testified that Darryl Henley asked her to make several trips to Atlanta and Memphis, Tenn., in 1993 to transport suitcases that he had told her were full of money but actually contained cocaine. She has also testified that he paid her $1,000 for making the trips.

Prosecutors responded by establishing that her decision to testify was not part of a plea bargain with the U.S. attorney’s office.

Under questioning by Assistant U.S. Atty. John Rayburn, Donaho, wearing a light peach-colored suit and pearl earrings, said she decided to testify only after she had pleaded guilty to drug conspiracy. She also denied being coached by prosecutors about what to say during the trial or what questions she would be asked.

Darryl Henley, 28, and Donaho are among eight people indicted by a federal grand jury in December, 1993, for cocaine possession and conspiracy to operate an illicit drug network from the football player’s home in Brea.

Prosecutors say the alleged cocaine trafficking ring extended from California to Georgia. Donaho and another defendant have pleaded guilty and await sentencing, while a third defendant will be tried separately on an extortion charge stemming from his alleged involvement in the ring.

Darryl Henley and the other co-defendants on trial in U.S. District Court have all pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Federal drug enforcement agents stopped Donaho, who was carrying a bag containing about 25 pounds of cocaine, at an Atlanta airport in July, 1993. They confiscated the suitcase but allowed her to leave when she denied that it was hers. When she returned to the airport later to retrieve it, she was arrested.

If convicted, Darryl Henley could face a maximum of life in federal prison and a fine of up to $4 million. He remains free on $200,000 bail.