Brent Schrotenboer

USA TODAY Sports

Sharper will continue to be held in jail in downtown Los Angeles%2C with another hearing set for March 24

He might not be handed over to any other state seeking him on rape allegations until the Los Angeles case is resolved

Only California and Arizona have formally charged him%2C with three other states still investigating him for possible date rape

LOS ANGELES, March 13 — A California judge ordered former NFL star Darren Sharper held in jail indefinitely in the wake of a five-count indictment handed down against him this week in Arizona, the second state to charge Sharper with drugging women and then raping them while they were unconscious.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Renee Korn set a hearing for March 24 to revisit the bail status of Sharper, who has been in custody here since he surrendered on a New Orleans arrest warrant Feb. 27.

Korn dismissed the Louisiana extradition matter because that state had only issued an arrest warrant for Sharper, but has yet to bring formal charges. Korn said in a hearing last week she would be inclined to release Sharper if Louisiana did not bring formal charges by Thursday's hearing.

But in the wake of the grand jury indictment in Arizona this week, Korn on Thursday ordered Sharper held because the charges against Sharper constitute non-bondable offenses in that state.

"On a case where the charges against him are non-bondable offenses and serious charges, such as the underlying charges for Mr. Sharper here and in the state of Arizona... we set at no bail," Korn said. "He (Sharper) is remanded at this time to the sheriff of Los Angeles County at no bail."

Sharper's attorneys accused prosecutors of manipulating the case to keep their client in jail indefinitely. They said Sharper's attorney in Arizona had reached an agreement with prosecutors there to surrender in that state and have an opportunity for bail in that state. Levine also offered to have Sharper held under house arrest with electronic monitoring in California, but Korn rejected the request.

"Your honor, you don't have the right to keep him in custody here pending those proceedings (in Arizona)," Levine told Korn.

Korn replied, "You have every ability to appear on behalf of your client in Arizona and get them (Arizona) to agree to set some kind of bail."

Sharper's attorney in Arizona, Skip Donau, told USA TODAY Sports that he plans to meet with Arizona prosecutors next week to discuss his client's prosecution and extradition status there.

"The current incarceration of Sharper is contrary to our understanding with the (Arizona) prosecutor, and regardless of how and when Sharper arrives in (Arizona), we are entitled to a hearing on the no-bail request by the prosecutor," Donau said Thursday. "If we are successful, Sharper will be granted bail."

Sharper, a former Pro Bowl safety who won a Super Bowl with the New Orleans Saints after the 2009 season, appeared in court in an orange jail uniform and white undershirt, handcuffed and sitting inside a glass-paneled cage.

Thursday's hearing marked the latest twist in an increasingly complicated and dramatic crime saga involving Sharper, who is suspected of nine date rapes in five states, most following a similar pattern. Police reports and court documents state that Sharper partied with the women and then raped them while they were unconscious from alcohol intoxication or drug-laced drinks provided by him.

He has pleaded not guilty, and Donau said Wednesday that Sharper vigorously denies the charges.

Levine previously said in court that these were consensual acts and noted that the women ingested drugs and alcohol, implying that their stories were impaired by faulty memories.

So far, only California and Arizona have formally filed charges against him for two alleged rapes in each state. He remains under investigation for two other alleged rapes in New Orleans, two others in Las Vegas and one in Miami Beach, all since September.

Sharper, 38, first was arrested on felony rape charges in Los Angeles on Jan. 17 and was released on $200,000 bail.

After more date-rape allegations came to light in other states, authorities in Los Angeles wanted to increase his bail to keep him from fleeing justice. In response, Korn increased the bail to $1 million on Feb. 20 and ordered him not to be alone with women he didn't know before Oct. 30, the date of the first alleged date rape in Los Angeles.

But his freedom lasted only a week. On Feb. 27, he surrendered to authorities in Los Angeles after a fugitive warrant was issued for his arrest in New Orleans. That warrant accused him and an acquaintance, Erik Nunez, of raping two women in an apartment there on Sept. 23.

Sharper faces up to 30 years in prison in the Los Angeles case alone, with a preliminary hearing setting scheduled for April 15.

According to California law, he likely will not be handed over to any other state until the Los Angeles case is resolved.

"California and Los Angeles County have every right to assert priority, to try their case first, before the case in Arizona, so the court at this time is going to remand the defendant at no bail," Korn said.

In the Los Angeles case, Sharper raped one woman in October and one in January, both after knocking them out with drinks laced with Ambien, according to police reports and court documents.

In October, one alleged victim woke up naked with Sharper sexually assaulting her, according to Los Angeles police records. A different woman – a potential witness – woke up in a different room and entered Sharper's room, "interrupting his actions," the records state. In January, two girls said they went unconscious within minutes of Sharper providing them a drink.

One of the women later woke up feeling as they she had been sexually assaulted, and both sought medical treatment, according to the records.

Sharper had been working in Los Angeles as an analyst for the NFL Network, which terminated his contract recently amid the mounting allegations. The former Pro Bowl safety played in the NFL for 14 seasons with the New Orleans Saints, Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings before retiring after the 2010 season.

Follow Brent Schrotenboer on Twitter @Schrotenboer. E-mail: bschrotenb@usatoday.com