Arrest warrant issued for Sharper in rape case

New Orleans police have issued an arrest warrant for Darren Sharper. (USATSI)

New Orleans police announced on Thursday that an arrest warrant has been issued for former NFL safety Darren Sharper. Sharper and an accomplice are wanted on two counts of aggravated rape, a police spokeswoman told the New Orleans Times-Picayune.

The warrant comes one week after Sharper was in court Los Angeles, where he entered a plea of not guilty to a felony charge of drugging and raping two women. Sharper was also charged with four counts of furnishing a controlled substance and one count of possession of a controlled substance

During that hearing, Sharper's bail was also raised from $200,000 to $1 million, according to USA Today. The prosecution had requested that Sharper's bail be raised to as high as $10 million.

Sharper has been accused of raping at least eight women in five different states. The Los Angeles case and the New Orleans case are the only ones so far where he's facing charges. However, Sharper's also under investigation in Arizona, Nevada and Florida.

The 38-year-old former safety is currently under a judge's orders to remain in Los Angeles. At Sharper's Feb. 20 court hearing, the judge set several bail terms, including one that requires Sharper to stay in Los Angeles County. Sharper also isn't allowed to go to clubs or talk to any women he met after the first alleged rape occurred in Los Angeles on Oct. 30, 2013.

Sharper's attorneys have maintained his innocence, "All of these were consensual contact between Mr. Sharper and women who wanted to be in his company, who voluntarily ingested alcohol and drugs in many cases," Sharper's lawyer, Leonard Levine, told the judge at the Feb. 20 hearing.

If convicted on either aggravated rape charge in New Orleans, Sharper will likely be spending the rest of his life in prison. According to the statement issued by New Orleans police, an aggravated rape conviction can carry a potential life sentence of hard labor.

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Cardinals RB Rashard Mendenhall hints at retiring. Kind of. Maybe. Perhaps



It's a slow news day, so let's take an trip inside the mind of Cardinals running back Rashard Mendenhall.Mendenhall wrote a blog entry for The Huffington Post on Tuesday in which he describes a vision he had the day after he tore his right ACL during the Steelers' regular-season finale of 2012. Mendenhall writes that his vision consisted on swimming in dark, cold, dangerous waters late at night. As he moved through the waters, Mendenhall, who is not Catholic, writes that he saw the mother of Christ."Through it all, I knew that after much toil ... that undoubtedly I would reach her," Mendenhall wrote. "And that once I had, this particular journey would be over for good. I would finally be at peace. Soon after to embark on a new voyage, hardened from the experience, and no longer alone, but with light by my side"The journey I envisioned is the two years of rebuilding that would follow. And as I write this, today is the day that the journey is over and I am fully at peace. Eagerly looking to a new way, which lies ahead."



Mendenhall frequently writes poetry, and while his latest account is solid writing, some of the wording can obviously be interpreted differently. I think it sounds like a man who feels he is fully healthy for the first time in 14 months and pleased to be at the end of the long "journey" he took to get back to 100 percent.But fragments such as "embark on a new voyage," and "fully at peace" do give off a vibe that the 26-year-old may not be fully committed to continuing his NFL career. However, some interest on the open market and a nice, new contract may change those presumed feelings. As of Tuesday night, Mendenhall hasn't revealed the true meaning of his musings.