Darren Sharper to face federal charges in New Orleans

NEW ORLEANS -- Former Saints safety Darren Sharper has been ordered to be brought to New Orleans to face federal drug charges against him, putting that case ahead of the related rape charges he faces in three separate state jurisdictions.

In paperwork filed Monday, Magistrate Judge Michael North ordered that Sharper be brought to New Orleans by Feb. 23 to face his arraignment on three counts in which Sharper is accused of drugging women with an Ambien-like drug in order to knock them out and sexually assault them.

The extradition will put the federal case ahead of the separate state rape charges he faces in New Orleans, Tempe, Arizona and Los Angeles. Sharper will be transferred by U.S. Marshals from Los Angeles County Jail, where he has been held without bond since March 2014.

The formal extradition demand – a writ of habeas corpus – comes in the form of an order from the President of the United States and cannot be challenged.

In the federal indictment issued Dec. 12, Sharper is charged alongside former St. Bernard Parish Sheriff's Deputy Brandon Licciardi. Both men are charged with three narcotics counts related to drugging women with the intent to sexually assault them.

Licciardi, who was fired as soon as the indictment was announced, is also charged with witness tampering and obstruction of justice. He was ordered held without bond as a flight risk and possible danger to the community.

In a separate state indictment issued by the Orleans Parish District Attorney's office, Sharper, 39, is charged with two counts of aggravated rape from a Sept. 23, 2013 incident in which two women complained of being drugged and raped at a party at a condo Sharper was using.

Sharper is also charged separately with a simple rape from August 2013.

Sharper acquaintance Erik Nunez, 27, is charged with the same two counts of aggravated rape for allegedly participating in the Sept. 23 attack. Nunez also is charged with obstruction of justice for allegedly erasing incriminating text messages.

Nunez is being held at Orleans Parish Prison after bail was set at $2.5 million.

WWL-TV legal analyst Donald "Chick" Foret said "Darren Sharper's cards have been shuffled and re-dealt."

Foret said he expects the federal case to move much more quickly than the state cases, which hadn't even reached a preliminary hearing.

"This case will be put on a fast track by the government prosecutors and he will be tried much quicker here than he would have in California state court," Foret said.

"The case in Federal Court appears to be a very straightforward one from an evidentiary standpoint," Foret said. "The basis of the case is distribution of narcotics, which is a much easier case to prove than aggravated rape."

Some evidence in the case against Sharper, including incriminating text messages, was revealed at Licciardi's detention hearing last month.

An FBI agent testified about texts between Sharper and Licciardi regarding would-be victims. The agent referred to a text message from the then-deputy to Sharper which read, "She's ready."

Another text from Sharper to Licciardi read, "She's on the potion."

FBI agent Robert Blythe, who is heading up the case, also testified about getting information regarding a party in Las Vegas attended by Licciardi in which unnamed NFL players prepared a concoction called "horny juice" – champagne mixed with narcotics – to give to women in order to take advantage of them.

Blythe said the FBI has not pursued the tip, but would like to go down that path as the Sharper investigation unfolds.

So far, defense attorneys for Licciardi and Nunez have shown no signs of wilting under the pressure of the indictments. In fact, Licciardi's attorney Ralph Capitelli said the government has "serious flaws with their cases. Serious, serious flaws with the cases."

Nunez's attorney, Jeffrey Smith, said his client is eager to go to trial to clear his name. Smith said that while Nunez accompanied Sharper to his condo on the night of the alleged crime, he remained in a room with his girlfriend.

Sharper's New Orleans attorney could not be reached for comment.

The 39-year-old Sharper spent 14 years in the NFL as a safety and was a five-time Pro Bowl selection. He played for the Green Bay Packers, the Minnesota Vikings and then the Saints, where he was part of the team's Super Bowl championship team in 2009.

Following his second year with Saints in 2010, Sharper announced his retirement. Sharper was fired as a TV analyst with NFL Network when the serial rape charges began surfacing in January 2014.

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