LAS VEGAS — A former NBA developmental league player accused alongside his ex-girlfriend of killing a Lynnwood woman whose body was found last month in southern Nevada made his first court appearance in front of a Las Vegas judge on Tuesday.
Chance Comanche, 27, played for the Stockton Kings before his Dec. 15 arrest in Sacramento. On Tuesday, a judge set his preliminary hearing date for the beginning of February, and Comanche's lawyer reserved the right to address a bail application at a later time.
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.
Police in Las Vegas said Rodgers, a medical assistant, was choked to death early Dec. 6. Her remains were later found in a roadside ditch in suburban Henderson.
Detectives said they then suspected foul play and gathered evidence to arrest Harnden and Comanche "for their role in the kidnapping and disappearance of Rodgers."
Harnden was arrested on Dec. 13 and booked into jail on kidnapping charges, according to a Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department news release. Comanche was arrested two days later.
With information from the suspects, detectives were able to find human remains which were identified by the Clark County Coroner’s Office as Rodgers.
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.