Former G League player Chance Comanche reportedly admitted to killing woman in Las Vegas after arrest
Chance Comanche was released from the Stockton Kings, the Sacramento Kings’ G League affiliate, after his arrest Friday
Former NBA G League player Chance Comanche admitted to fatally strangling a woman earlier this month in Las Vegas, according to a Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department affidavit.
Comanche was arrested Friday after a first-degree kidnapping warrant was issued in Las Vegas. He was taken to jail in Sacramento County, California, and later released from the Stockton Kings, the Sacramento Kings’ G League affiliate. On Sunday, Las Vegas police said Comanche and his girlfriend, Sakari Harnden, were facing murder charges for the death of Marayna Rodgers.
According to The Associated Press, Comanche described for Las Vegas detectives the alleged killing of Rodgers. He appeared in court Tuesday and is set to be transferred to Nevada, where he will face murder and conspiracy to commit murder charges. Harnden is also facing charges related to Rodgers’ death and is being held without bond in a Las Vegas jail.
“I cannot comment on the substance of any statements made to law enforcement,” Comanche’s attorney, Michael Goldstein, said Wednesday, via The Associated Press. “We made our initial appearance yesterday, and the allegations will be addressed in court … We’re going to let the courts deal with it. We’re going to deal with it in Nevada.”
Rodgers, a medical assistant from Washington state, was last seen Dec. 6 during a trip to Las Vegas with friends, her family said. Her remains were later found in a desert area outside the city.
According to the report, Comanche and Harnden worked together to choke Rodgers on Dec. 6 over an ongoing dispute Harnden and Rodgers were having over an expensive watch. Police said both Harnden and Rodgers were sex workers, and the “plot called for Comanche to pose as a sex customer” to lure Rodgers in before they allegedly killed her. Police said Comanche and Harnden then left Rodgers’ body on the side of a road in Henderson, Nevada.
Comanche, 27, was in Las Vegas with the Stockton Kings for a game against the G League Ignite on Dec. 5 — the day before the alleged murder. The 6-foot-10 forward has appeared in one NBA game in his career, which happened last season with the Portland Trail Blazers. Comanche went undrafted out of Arizona in 2017 and has spent time in the G League, The Basketball League and playing in Turkey. He averaged 14 points and seven rebounds in 13 games with the Stockton Kings this season.
