Former NFL player Darren Sharper to remain in jail without bail

Former NFL player Darren Sharper, charged with drugging and raping two women in Hollywood, was ordered Thursday to remain in jail without bail after an Arizona grand jury indicted him on charges of committing two sexual assaults in Arizona.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Renee Korn rejected efforts by Sharper’s attorneys, Blair Berk and Larry Levine, to have the Super Bowl-winning safety released from L.A. County custody on house arrest with GPS monitoring. They had asked that he be allowed to surrender to authorities in Arizona, where an indictment was unsealed this week.

Sharper, 38, has been charged in Los Angeles County with two rape counts and five drug counts in connection with two separate alleged attacks after meeting the women at nightclubs. After first being released, he was taken into custody again Feb. 27 after New Orleans police issued an arrest warrant for him in connection with two more rapes.

On Wednesday, authorities announced that an Arizona grand jury had indicted him on five sexual assault and drug-related counts in connection with attacks that allegedly occurred in Tempe, Ariz., on Nov. 20, 2013.

In all, Sharper is accused of drugging and sexually assaulting at least eight women in Los Angeles, New Orleans, Las Vegas and Tempe, Ariz. A ninth woman has accused him of sexual battery in Florida.

On Thursday, Los Angeles County Deputy Dist. Atty. Javan Wygal said New Orleans officials did not plan to file charges in their case because they did not want the time to run out to try him in Louisiana.

Korn said Sharper will remain in an L.A. County Jail until Arizona sets bail for him. She said 99% of those awaiting extradition are held without bail and Sharper would be no different. She set a March 24 hearing on Sharper’s status if the Arizona courts allow bail to be set.

L.A. County prosecutors said they planned to try Sharper before any trial proceedings begin in Arizona.

Court documents filed in Los Angeles describe a pattern in the allegations. Victims reported meeting the five-time Pro Bowl player, usually at a nightclub, then going back to his hotel room or home.

Sharper allegedly offered the women shots to drink. Afterward, the women said, they immediately blacked out. Many of the women woke up with little or no memory of what happened but felt that they had been sexually assaulted.

New Orleans police issued an arrest warrant for Sharper and his friend, Erik Nunez, 26, after two women alleged that the men had sex with them without their consent while they “were under the influence of an unknown substance” on Sept. 23.

Sharper played for the Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings and New Orleans Saints. He has been fired from his job with the NFL Network.

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