Chance Comanche pleads not guilty to murder charge, avoids death penalty / News - Basketnews.com

Former NBA and G League player Chance Comanche and his ex-girlfriend pleaded not guilty to murdering and kidnapping a woman in Las Vegas last year.

Credit: Hector Amezcua/The Sacramento Bee via ZUMA Press Wire Credit Hector Amezcua/The Sacramento Bee via ZUMA Press Wire

Former Portland Trail Blazers forward Chance Comanche pleaded not guilty to kidnapping and killing a woman in Las Vegas, after police said he confessed and showed them where her body was buried.

The former Stockton Kings player and his ex-girlfriend Sakari Harnden were both charged by a grand jury earlier in March for the kidnapping and murder of Harden's friend Marayna Rodgers.

Comanche, 27, and Harnden, 19, used a cord or another ligature to strangle Rodgers, the grand jury indictment alleges.

Comanche was arrested by the FBI in December 2023.Rodgers' body was found in a desert area in Henderson, Nevada, after her last being seen in Las Vegas. Rodgers, who worked as a medical assistant, was visiting her friends in the area and had a pre-arranged meeting with Harnden.

However, both Comanche and Harnden on Thursday pleaded not guilty to all four charges against them:

murder with the use of a deadly weapon conspiracy to commit murder first-degree kidnapping with the use of a deadly weapon conspiracy to commit kidnapping.

According to CNN, police say the pair lured Rodgers to a secluded location under the guise of a prostitution deal. The pair then strangled Rodgers in Harnden’s vehicle before dumping her body in a ditch and covering her body with rocks.

Comanche told his ex-girlfriend in a text, "I can snap her neck or just strangle the bitch," according to the warrant. In another message, he wrote, "If you get a nice little thick piece of rope or sum sturdy I can do it from the back seat. Like how killers do it in the movies."

The hearing had been postponed as the District Attorney’s office decided whether to seek the death penalty, something prosecutors ultimately decided against. Both defendants will be back in court on April 3rd.

Comanche played in one NBA game for the Trail Blazers last season, where he scored 7 points against the Golden State Warriors. He averaged 14 points and 7 rebounds for the Stockton Kings in the G-League this season.

In 2018, Comanche had a tryout in Partizan Belgrade but was deemed unfit to join the team, coached back then by Nenad Canak.

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