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Former NBA G League player Chance Comanche won’t face the death penalty if found guilty in his ongoing murder trial.
“Today the State announced that they are not seeking the death penalty,” his attorney, Gary L. Guymon, said, per ESPN.com’s Anthony Olivieri. “We are grateful for this decision. The case will be set for trial where we will make the necessary comments and arguments in Court in anticipation of trial.”
A grand jury in Clark County, Nevada, indicted Comanche on March 8 on charges of murder and kidnapping in connection to the death of Maryana Rodgers on Dec. 6. Sakari Harnden, an ex-girlfriend of the 27-year-old, is also facing charges of murder and kidnapping for her role.
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department announced on Dec. 17 it had placed Comanche and Harnden into custody.
A day later, C.C. McCandless of FOX5 in Las Vegas reported based on the arrest report the pair “began planning the murder of Rodgers at the end of November and eventually acted on their reported plot when Comanche’s team played in Las Vegas.”
Comanche and Harnden allegedly told police they were unable to find a third party to kill Rodgers and took matters into their own hands. Per McCandless’ report, he said he strangled Rodgers with an HDMI cord “for approximately 10 seconds” and stopped when he could hear her being unable to breathe. Harnden allegedly strangled Rodgers after that.
Believing Rodgers to be dead, Comanche and Harnden left her body in a ditch in Henderson, Nevada. They allegedly attempted to cover their tracks by destroying her cell phone, covering her body with rocks and removing their DNA from the scene.
According to Olivieri, Comanche and Harnden have pleaded not guilty. They will be back in court on April 3, when the start of their trial will be scheduled.
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