LAS VEGAS -- A prosecutor said Tuesday that separate murder, kidnapping and conspiracy cases will be combined so a former NBA developmental league player and his ex-girlfriend can be tried together in the killing of a woman whose body was found last month in southern Nevada.
Chance Comanche, 27, a Los Angeles native who played for the Stockton Kings before his Dec. 15 arrest in Sacramento, California, made an initial court appearance Tuesday. He stood in shackles and responded, "Yes, ma'am," to a judge's questions about whether he understood the charges against him.
Comanche's defense attorney, Gary Guymon, did not immediately seek bail and declined to comment following the brief court appearance. But he said Comanche intends to plead not guilty during hearings to come.
Comanche's former girlfriend, Sakari Harnden, 19, also is jailed in Las Vegas pending a separate hearing Wednesday on a theft charge related to the disappearance and death of Marayna Rodgers, 23, of Lynnwood, Washington.
Prosecutor Kennedy Holthus told Judge Diana Sullivan on Tuesday that Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson intends to combine all the cases against Comanche and Harnden. Sullivan said Comanche will remain jailed without bail. The judge set his next court date for Feb. 8.
Police in Las Vegas said Rodgers, a medical assistant, was strangled early Dec. 6 and her remains were later found in a roadside ditch in suburban Henderson.
Comanche, a 6-foot-10 power forward and center, was dropped by the Stockton Kings, the NBA G League affiliate of the Sacramento Kings, following his arrest. He tallied 16 points and six rebounds when the team played the G League Henderson Ignite on Dec. 5.
