A Tempe detective said former NFL safety Darren Sharper's DNA was found in an examination of one of two women who accuse him of drugging and sexually assaulting them at a Tempe apartment during a bail hearing on Wednesday, delaying Sharper's hope of being released on bail, according to the Associated Press.
Tempe Detective Kevin Mace said Sharper's DNA was recovered from one of the women's clothing, but none of his DNA was found during an exam of the other woman, the AP reported. Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Warren Granville hasn't yet ruled on the issue and will continue the hearing Thursday afternoon.
Sharper has currently involved in several ongoing sexual assault investigations in Louisiana, California, Florida, Arizona and Nevada, according to the AP.
Bail in Sharper's California rape case was set at $1 million, but he was indicted in Arizona last month on charges of sexual assault and administering dangerous drugs and was denied bail, the AP reported.
The indictment alleges Sharper gave the sedative zolpidem to three women and then had "sexual intercourse or oral sexual contact" with two of them without their consent on Nov. 21 after a night of drinking at the apartment and at bars in nearby Scottsdale, according to the AP.
One of the women told police she hadn't had any alcohol that night until Sharper insisted she drink a shot while another young woman said she had been drugged, then went to bed, locked her door and wasn't attacked, the AP reported.
Sharper pleaded not guilty in the California case but has not yet entered a plea in the Arizona case, although one of his attorneys said Sharper will deny those allegations, according to the AP.
a request from Sharper's attorneys to set bail was denied by the judge earlier this month but Sharper's attorneys said the former player is entitled to a hearing to determine whether Arizona prosecutors have enough evidence on the sexual assault charges to deny him bail, the AP reported.
The Arizona Constitution automatically denies bail to people charged with sexual assault if the proof against them is evident or the presumption of guilt is great, according to the AP.
A police search of the apartment turned up a shot glass with a white residue that turned out to be zolpidem, and California investigators have discovered Sharper had a prescription for that drug, Mace said, the AP reported.
