Henley Will Change Pleas to Guilty

Former Ram cornerback Darryl Henley is expected to plead guilty today to charges that he conspired to murder a federal judge and a prosecution witness and arranged million-dollar drug deals from his jail cell, prosecutors said Tuesday.

The former athlete had pleaded not guilty in June to a 13-count indictment alleging the murder plots and drug sales. But in an agreement worked out over the last several weeks, Henley is expected to change his pleas today on four of the most serious counts at a federal court hearing in Los Angeles, said Assistant U.S. Atty. Marc S. Harris.

Henley’s 26-year-old brother, Eric Henley, is expected to plead guilty to narcotics charges.

Henley, who had been a star at UCLA, was one of the Rams’ best defensive players when his fall from grace began in 1993.

That December, Henley was charged with operating a cross-country drug network from his Brea home. Prosecutors said he used his fame to persuade former Ram cheerleader Tracy Donaho, then 19, to carry suitcases of cocaine across the country in the summer of 1993.

But Donaho attracted the attention of federal narcotics investigators by paying cash for a one-way ticket from Ontario International Airport to Atlanta for a predawn flight.

At the 1995 trial, Donaho testified against Henley. He and four co-defendants were convicted but have since sought a new trial.

Henley was awaiting sentencing in the downtown Los Angeles jail when, prosecutors say, authorities learned that he had ordered the killing of U.S. Dist. Judge Gary L. Taylor, who had presided over his trial, and of Donaho.

The Henley brothers will not be sentenced today, but sentencing will be discussed, Harris said.