Ex-Kings G League player Chance Comanche appears in Las Vegas court to face murder charge
Former Kings G League player Chance Comanche appeared in a Las Vegas courtroom for the first time Tuesday to face kidnapping and murder charges in connection to the strangulation death of a 23-year-old woman.
Comanche, 27, was arrested Dec. 15 in Sacramento County by sheriff’s deputies. He appeared briefly in Sacramento Superior Court on Dec. 19 before being extradited to Las Vegas to face charges. He has been charged with murder, kidnapping and conspiracy in the death of Marayna Rodgers.
In Clark County Justice Court on Tuesday, Comanche appeared in gray jail garb with his hands shackled in front of him. He responded, “Yes, ma’am” to questions from a judge asking if he understood the charges levied against him, according to the Associated Press.
His co-defendant and ex-girlfriend Sakari Harnden, 19, also faces murder and conspiracy charges in Rodgers’ death and is scheduled to return to court Feb. 8.
Comanche’s attorney declined to speak with reporters at the scene in Las Vegas, but told them Comanche plans to plead not guilty at future hearings, according to the Associated Press. Harnden’s attorney could not be reached.
Rodgers and Harnden were both allegedly sex workers, according to KLAS-TV, a CBS-affiliated station, which obtained an investigative report from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.
Police said Comanche and Harnden talked over an instant messaging app, Telegram Messenger, about what they would do to Rodgers, the station reported.
“I can snap her neck or just strangle the (expletive),” Comanche wrote, according to the arrest report obtained by KLAS. “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.”
Rodgers allegedly planned to offer prostitution services with Harnden on a double date. But Comanche joined while posing as a client, KLAS reported.
Comanche is accused of strangling Rodgers with an HDMI cord, reported FOX5 in Las Vegas, which also obtained an arrest report. Harnden helped by using her hands to strangle the victim, reports said.
Rodgers, a Washington resident, was missing for 10 days before her remains were discovered in early December in a desert area in Henderson, Nevada, authorities said.
Comanche was playing for the Stockton Kings, a G League affiliate of the Sacramento Kings, when Rodgers was killed. He accompanied the Kings to Las Vegas for a Dec. 5 game against G League Ignite. He was released by the team the day of his arrest, The Sacramento Bee reported at the time.
This story was originally published January 2, 2024 at 5:40 PM.
