Report: Former NFL star bragged to Bellagio security that former girlfriend wouldn’t press charges in alleged beating

By Brian Nordli, Conor Shine

Published Friday, Oct. 5, 2012 | 2:27 p.m.

Updated Friday, Oct. 5, 2012 | 5:21 p.m.

The 32-year-old, 5-foot-3, 120-pound Maryland woman woke up early Friday in the hallway of the Bellagio hotel, clothed only in her underwear and a see-through blouse.

Her face and torso showed the marks of a beating and she had bruises on her neck, indicating she had been strangled.

Crying, she knocked on multiple doors on the 10th floor of the hotel until someone called security.

Later in Friday’s early morning hours, Bellagio security detained Larry Johnson, a 32-year-old, 6-foot-2, 220-pound former NFL star running back while his ex-girlfriend iced her bruises and spoke with Metro Police.

The details of what had transpired that night were fuzzy, Johnson’s ex-girlfriend said, according to a police report.

She was out drinking with her girlfriends when she met up with Johnson to catch up. The two then went up to his room at the Bellagio to continue talking. That’s when the details began to blur, she said.

Johnson allegedly became enraged over something and began beating her and throwing her around the room, the report said. He then allegedly began to squeeze her neck, when she remembered fighting back and choking out a few last words before she lost consciousness.

“If you’re going to kill me, squeeze harder and just do it,” she said according to the police report.

Her next conscious moment was when she woke up in the hallway.

Johnson, the police report said, told security the woman wouldn’t press charges “same as last time.” He has been arrested several times in the past on charges of assault on women but was not convicted, according to published reports.

The victim told police that there had been multiple similar incidents in the past, including once at the Wynn Hotel.

Johnson, who had a cut on his cheek and another on his lip, disputed his former girlfriend’s story. “I never laid a finger on her,” he calmly told police.

Johnson was arrested around 5 a.m. and booked into the Clark County Detention Center on charges of battery domestic violence-strangulation. He is being detained on $15,000 bail and will be eligible to post bail after a mandated 12-hour holding period.

The Kansas City Chiefs drafted Johnson out of Penn State University in the first round of the 2003 NFL Draft. He played for four teams during his career, most recently with the Miami Dolphins in 2011. An All American in college, Johnson also was a two-time All-Pro with the Chiefs and led the AFC in rushing in 2005.