06-08-2016, 04:03 AM
LOS ANGELES -- Prosecutors charged former NFL safety Darren Sharper on Friday with raping and drugging two women in California and disclosed he is under investigation in connection with five more drug-related rapes in three other states. http://www.nfltexansteamstore.com/authen...ns-jersey/ . Sharper briefly appeared in Los Angeles Superior Court, where his arraignment was postponed until Feb. 20 at the request of his lawyers. They issued a statement saying he would be exonerated. Prosecutors then filed a motion to increase Sharpers bail to $10 million and outlined details of investigations involving him in Las Vegas, Tempe, Ariz., and New Orleans. Sharper has not been charged in the other jurisdictions. In the bail motion, Los Angeles County Investigator John Maccharella described a pattern in which the former football star met women at clubs or parties and lured them to a hotel room, where they were allegedly drugged and raped. The motion says the incidents happened in the past five months, with two occurring within a day in Los Angeles and Las Vegas. After conferring with police in other jurisdictions, Maccharella said in the bail motion that the first assault followed an event for New Orleans Saints football players on Sept. 22, 2013. Maccharella said he was told a woman went to a New Orleans bar with Sharper, consumed an alcoholic beverage provided by him and blacked out. She awoke the next morning while being sexually assaulted, the bail motion stated, noting that an exam later showed Sharpers DNA was present. The Los Angeles charges were based on incidents on Oct. 30, 2013, and Jan. 14, 2014, beginning at a West Hollywood nightclub. Sharper allegedly met two women each time, invited them to a party then said he had to stop at his hotel. In the October incident, each woman was given a shot of an alcoholic beverage before blacking out, and one later awoke to find the other being sexually assaulted, the charging documents state. In January, a woman awoke and suspected she had been assaulted, the documents state. Similar scenarios played out on Jan. 15 in Las Vegas and on Nov. 20, 2013, in Arizona, the bail motion states. In Los Angeles, Sharper is facing two counts of rape by use of drugs, four counts of furnishing a controlled substance, and one count of possession of a controlled substance. The complaint alleges the drugs involved were morphine and zolpidem, which is sold under the brand name Ambien. Sharper was represented by prominent Los Angeles attorneys Blair Berk and Leonard Levine. "We look forward to the true facts being revealed in this case," Berk said after the brief court appearance. "And we are hopeful Mr. Sharper will be fully exonerated before this case is concluded." Sharper, 38, played in the NFL from 1997 to 2010, mostly with the Packers. Sharper was arrested on Jan. 17. He was allowed to remain free on $200,000 bail and ordered to surrender his passport. He has not entered a plea. Superior Court Judge Roberto Longoria did not immediately take up the bail motion. Sharpers lawyers refused to comment on the other investigations. If convicted in the California case, Sharper could face more than 30 years in state prison. Sharper was selected All-Pro six times and chosen for the Pro Bowl five times. He played in two Super Bowls, one with the Packers as a rookie and a second with the Saints. http://www.nfltexansteamstore.com/authen...ns-jersey/ . -- Free agent centre Evan Dietrich-Smith has agreed to a contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. http://www.nfltexansteamstore.com/authen...ns-jersey/ .com) - Marylands Brad Craddock is the winner of the 2014 Lou Groza Award, given annually to the countrys top kicker.MONTREAL - If its not a must-win game, the Montreal Impacts home opener is certainly one they would very much like to win. After opening the Major League Soccer season with two tight losses on the road, the Impact will play host to the Seattle Sounders before more than 25,000 at Olympic Stadium on Saturday afternoon. It will be a first home game for new coach Frank Klopas, the first time Brossard, Que., native Patrice Bernier will play at home as team captain, and the last that star striker Marco Di Vaio will sit out from the three-game suspension he got for wading into a skirmish in the playoffs last October. "Its the third game of the season, but we need to start getting some points," former Chicago Fire boss Klopas said this week. "Its good to be home. "We definitely felt that we should have picked up some points on the road, but thats the game." The Impact opened the season March 8 with a 3-2 loss in Dallas marked by a harsh penalty awarded to the home team. They followed a week later with a 1-0 defeat in Houston. There was a feeling the team played better in the second game — that the defence was sharper, that better chances were created and that Di Vaios replacement Andrew Wenger looked more comfortable up front. "We have some momentum even if were 0-2," said Bernier, who replaced the departed Davy Arnaud as captain. "Its not like we played bad and got cleaned out. "We felt we progressed last game from the first game and now were coming home. We have to defend our home and weve been very good at home the last two years. This is a game that could send us in the right direction and give us a positive boost." They are up against a Seattle side (1-1-0) with a formidable attack, but which is coming off a 2-1 loss at home to Toronto FC on former Tottenham striker Jermain Defoes pair of first-half goals. The Sounders, old foes of the Impact from their A-League and United Soccer League days, have not beaten Montreal in MLS play. The Impact won 4-1 in Montreal in 2012 and opened the 2013 campaign with a 1-0 win in Seattle. But Seattle has been among the better away sides in MLS, with a 29-28-24 road record since they entered the league in 2009. http://www.nfltexansteamstore.com/authen...ns-jersey/. Di Vaio and midfielder Andres Romero, both with three game suspensions, wont see action until a March 29 game in Philadelphia. In Di Vaios absence, winger Justin Mapp and attacking midfielder Felipe Martins have led the offence. The veteran Mapp was among their best players last season, but Felipe looks to have rebounded from a mediocre campaign and is looking more like the energetic playmaker he was as a rookie in 2012. He has yet to score, but leads the team with eight shots. "I had a few chances," he said. "But the hardest thing is to create chances and were doing that. "The only thing is we have to put it in the net, but that is going to come. Its not after one or two games you have to figure out whats going on. Its just soccer, no? One time a goal goes in and after that it comes natural." Klopas likes what hes seen of the Brazilian. "He missed the beginning of the season with injury last year and that was one reason his fitness level and sharpness werent the same," the coach said. "Hes a guy that sometimes doesnt get the points, but he helps the team in so many ways without the ball, with his work rate and stuff like that. "Ive been very pleased with him and I know he has a lot more room to grow." Bernier, coming off knee surgery, missed the season opener but got in 72 minutes in Houston. The team is still waiting for Bernier, Felipe and designated player Hernan Bernardello to all be at peak form to see what the centre of their midfield can do. Bernardello was injured shortly after signing last summer. The Impact are to play their first three home games at the Big O before moving outdoors to Saputo Stadium. Klopas coached Chicago against the Impact in Montreals first MLS game at Olympic Stadium in 2012, a 1-1 draw. "Its amazing that two years ago I was on the opposite side in the first game here, with a tremendous atmosphere," he said. "I hope its the same, only now theyre cheering for me and our team." Cheap China Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China China NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap Jerseys China ' ' ' Cheap NFL China Jerseys