COLUMBUS — Two Columbus attorneys accused of laundering money for a drug ring that brought $100 million in illegal drugs to central Ohio from Arizona are scheduled to plead guilty early next year.

Charles W. McGowan, 41, and Kyle Hunter, 40, plan to plead guilty Jan. 6 in federal court to charges of laundering money for the drug ring run by Donald Dailey Jr.

Dailey, of Pataskala, was sentenced in October to 20 years in prison for his leadership of the ring, which involved cash and drugs crisscrossing the country in all types of vehicles.

The roles of McGowan and Hunter had been kept quiet while prosecutors worked out plea deals.

Prosecutors say Dailey paid McGowan to find attorneys for drug mules who were caught in other states.

Payments were made in cash, often stashed in containers such as doughnut boxes or fast food bags.

The operations of the ring have become clearer to federal investigators as charges they pressed against ring participants led to several becoming informants.

Investigators gathered information on McGowan and Hunter in August, when they searched the law offices of McGowan and Hunter in Columbus and obtained a computer, as well as financial records. Investigators also searched each man’s home.

Court records show McGowan is accused of laundering $30,000 to $70,000 in drug money and failing to report cash payments of $120,000 to $200,000.

An agreement signed by McGowan in October says he will plead guilty to laundering money and failing to report cash payments of $10,000.

An Elyria girl and an Oberlin man hurt in an accident early yesterday morning are both still in MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland.

Erin Martin, 17, is in serious condition, and Rodney Cannon, 20, is in critical but stable condition, according to hospital representatives.

According to the Elyria post of the State Highway Patrol, they were in a 2007 Chevrolet Cobalt traveling south on state Route 511 just south of Jones Road when they failed to negotiate a curve. The car went off the road and went airborne, striking traffic signs and utility poles and ejecting the pair. The patrol believe Martin was driving but is not 100 percent sure.

Robert Stanley said he was driving to work at Elyria Foundry about 2:30 a.m. when he noticed lights shining up into the trees and then noticed the car in the ditch and called 911.

He saw Martin lying facedown in a field and didn’t initially see Cannon, who was unresponsive in a ditch on the other side of the road.

“She just kept crying for me to help her,” Stanley said. “She was in pain, and she was freezing.”

Stanley said he had no idea how long she’d been there.

“I covered her up best I could,” he said. “I was trying to comfort her the best I could until somebody got there.”

About 10 minutes after he arrived, Stanley said a truck driver stopped as well. It was only when the truck driver went out to the road to flag down emergency vehicles that they noticed Cannon in the ditch.

“I had asked her if there was anyone else in the car,” Stanley said. She had said no and just kept screaming for help, Stanley said.

The two were taken to Allen Community Hospital in Oberlin and then LifeFlighted to MetroHealth.

According to the patrol, it does not appear either was wearing a seat belt, and it is unclear if alcohol or drugs were a factor. The crash remains under investigation.

“She was talking, and she didn’t sound drunk or anything, she just sounded like she was in pain,” Stanley said. “And there was no response out of him.”

Contact Rona Proudfoot at 329-7124 or rproudfoot@chroniclet.com.

BRIGHTON TWP. — A 20-year-old Oberlin man and a 17-year-old Elyria girl are at MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland following an accident overnight on state Route 511.

According to the Elyria post of the State Highway Patrol, they were in a 2007 Chevrolet Cobalt traveling south on 511 just south of Jones Road about 2:45 a.m. when they failed to negotiate a curve. The car went off the road and went airborne, striking traffic signs and utility poles and ejecting the pair. It was unclear from a news release who was driving, and the patrol is not releasing their names yet.

The two were taken to Allen Community Hospital in Oberlin and then LifeFlighted to MetroHealth. There conditions were not immediately available.

According to the patrol, it does not appear either was wearing a seat belt, and it is unclear if alcohol or drugs were a factor. The crash remains under investigation.

Contact Rona Proudfoot at 329-7124 or rproudfoot@chroniclet.com.

AMHERST — An Amherst man has been found dead following a fire in his Amherst home.

The fire was discovered this afternoon but was out when firefighters arrived at the small home at 1127 N. Main St. and may have occurred up to several days ago. There was very little evidence from outside the home that there had been a fire.

The man, who was in his 50s, was found in the middle of the living room floor. He lived by himself.

The home is owned by Charles Longworth, according to the Lorain County auditor’s office. It couldn’t be confirmed immediately whether Longworth was the man found dead, but the 1127 N. Main St. address was the mailing address listed for Longworth as well.

A neighbor called police after looking into the home.

The man’s mother was at the scene and said she hadn’t heard from her son in a couple of days.

A yellow cat apparently owned by the man was darting around the accident scene scared, and people were trying to coax it to safety.

Read tomorrow’s Chronicle for more on this story.