DaytonDailyNews.com

XENIA — The girlfriend of the alleged drug dealer who hung himself in a Georgia jail last summer after being snared in a nationwide manhunt agreed Monday, March 30, to a plea deal that should spare her from prison.

Chelsie D. Hornsburger, 21, pleaded guilty to two counts of money laundering in Greene County Common Pleas Court. In exchange for her testimony against other members of a drug ring allegedly led by former Yellow Springs resident Umoja Iddi Bakari, prosecutors recommended she receive probation. The charges, both third degree felonies, carry a maximum sentence of 10 years.

Hornsburger admitted to collecting drug debts on Bakari's behalf, two of which were $1,000 transactions with members of the Greene County Drug Task Force, according to court records.

"This is a good example of how someone who is naive can be sucked into a drug enterprise," said Suzanne Schmidt, first assistant prosecutor.

Hornsburger also admitted to receiving drugs through the mail for Bakari and mailing drug payments to Arizona and California.

Hornsburger met Bakari in 2007 and he told her he was a single dad. She later learned he was still married and operating a drug operation that brought marijuana and cocaine from Columbus to Yellow Springs for distribution, according to officials.

Prosecutors also have indicted Bakari's wife, Bekelech M. Asefa, 26, of Canal Winchester, Ohio near Columbus, who faces 20 felony counts including racketeering and money laundering. She entered a not guilty plea to the charges earlier this month and is free without bond.

Bakari fled the Columbus area last May before police raided several homes he owned there and arrested Hornsburger. Officers caught up with Bakari near Atlanta in June, but he hung himself with a T-shirt in jail shortly after his arrest.

Police are still searching for Robert McDonald Jr., a former Greene County resident, who allegedly helped Bakari sell drugs. McDonald is wanted on 11 felony charges and also has lived in Atlanta and Florida, police said.