Henley Jury Bribery Allegations Investigated

Prosecutors revealed Friday that a federal grand jury is investigating allegations that a juror sought or was offered a bribe during the trial of ex-Ram cornerback Darryl Henley and four others who were convicted of cocaine trafficking.

U.S. District Judge Gary L. Taylor said that until the grand jury investigation is completed, he would postpone a hearing to decide whether this and other allegations of jury misconduct warrant giving the defendants a new trial.

“I’m not going to rush into this hearing. I want the facts,” Taylor said Friday in response to a defense request for evidence the FBI and grand jury have collected so far in their probes.

While Taylor agreed with defense attorneys that information gathered for the grand jury should be made available to his court, he also agreed with the U.S. attorney that immediate release of the evidence might undermine the ongoing federal investigation.

U.S. Attorney Deirdre Z. Eliot estimated that the federal grand jury’s criminal investigation could take two to three months. Authorities said it is standard procedure for a federal grand jury to be handed information gathered by an FBI probe.

That estimate drew an objection from James D. Riddett, attorney for defendant Rex Henley, Darryl Henley’s uncle. Riddett argued that the federal investigators and grand jury don’t need that much time.

Riddett and Juliette Robinson-Slaton, Darryl Henley’s lawyer, said that because of the additional delay caused by the grand jury investigation, they will try to have their clients, now in Orange County Jail, released on bail.

Riddett told the judge he believes the grand jury “is totally wasting time.”

He said it was “ridiculous” that the federal investigators were asking for more time. He said they have known for five weeks about allegations involving the jury that convicted Darryl Henley and four others in March.

Late last month, Rex Henley, subsequently joined by Darryl Henley and a third co-defendant, Willie McGowan, filed a petition alleging that one of the jurors in the cocaine trafficking case expressed racial prejudice, decided “that the defendants were guilty early in the case” and discussed the case frequently while car-pooling to court.

The petition also claims that a second juror discussed the possibility of taking a $50,000 bribe to change his vote.

Both jurors have denied the allegations.

Four of the five men convicted, including Darryl and Rex Henley, are black. Although only three of them have asked for a new trial, Riddett said Friday he expects that ultimately all the defendants will join in the request.

A group of more than 20 African Americans, several of them ministers and most from Los Angeles and Long Beach, filled the courtroom Friday morning.

“We are here to make sure that justice prevails,” said Michael Ealey, pastor at Christ Second Baptist Church in Long Beach, where he said Darryl Henley attends services. Ealey said Darryl Henley called him asking for help after the verdict.

Ealey said the group is not taking a position about Henley’s guilt or innocence, just watching to make certain that he is treated fairly.