Ex-NBA G League star due in Las Vegas court after allegedly admitting to strangling woman

LAS VEGAS — A former NBA developmental league player accused with his ex-girlfriend of killing a woman whose body was found last month in southern Nevada is due to face a Las Vegas judge on Tuesday following his transfer in custody from a jail in Sacramento, California.

Chance Comanche, 27, who played for the Stockton Kings before his Dec. 15 arrest in Sacramento, arrived Sunday at the Clark County Detention Center and is due for an initial appearance, jail and court records showed.

Comanche’s defense attorney, Gary Guymon, declined comment Monday ahead of the court appearance.

Comanche’s’ former girlfriend, Sakari Harnden, 19, also is jailed in Las Vegas pending a separate preliminary hearing Wednesday on charges related to the disappearance and death of Marayna Rodgers, 23, of Lynnwood, Washington.

Chance Comanche of the Stockton Kings during a game in Grand Rapids, Mich.Chance Comanche of the Stockton Kings during a game in Grand Rapids, Mich., on Feb. 9, 2023.Richard Prepetit / NBAE via Getty Images file

Police in Las Vegas said Rodgers, a medical assistant, was choked to death early Dec. 6. Comanche allegedly admitted to strangling her in a murder plot that had him posing as a prostitute’s customer, court documents revealed last month.

Rodgers’ remains were later found in a roadside ditch in suburban Henderson.

Michael Goldstein, one of his defense attorneys, told reporters outside court in Sacramento last month that “we really have nothing to say.”

“We’re going to deal with it in Nevada,” he added.

Comanche, a 6-foot-10 power forward and center, was dropped following his arrest by Stockton, the NBA G League affiliate of the Sacramento Kings. The team had played the G League Henderson Ignite on Dec. 5.

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