Police have arrested a Raleigh firefighter and charged him with abducting two women in Smithfield and trying to sexually assault them.
Daniel Robert Muller, 24, of 1097 Black Angus Drive, Garner, faces two counts of first-degree kidnapping and one count each of first-degree sexual assault and attempted first-degree sexual assault.
Police think that Muller offered a ride to a 40-year-old woman around 11 p.m. July 17 as she was leaving the Smithfield Market, a convenience store on South Bright Leaf Boulevard. Once the woman was in the car, he threatened her with a handgun and took her to a secluded area in Selma where he sexually assaulted her, Smithfield Police Lt. Keith Powell said.
Powell said the woman was found wandering down Oak Street in Selma several hours later. She told police she'd been tied to a tree.
After Muller's arrest on Saturday, investigators connected him to a similar abduction that was reported on May 25. In that incident, a 43-year-old woman was offered a ride on West Street and threatened with a gun, but she escaped before she was assaulted, Powell said. Those charges were filed Tuesday.
Muller was tied to the crimes through his ATM card purchases, Powell said, though he didn't steal anything from the women.
Raleigh Fire Chief John McGrath said Muller was hired May 26 as a recruit. He was still in the department's training academy at the time of his arrest. He's in the process of being dismissed since he's missed training sessions since his arrest on Saturday, McGrath said. The chief said Muller cleared a background check when he was hired.
Muller is being held at the Johnston County jail under $350,000. Powell, the police lieutenant, declined to say whether Muller is suspected of any other crimes, but he asked anyone with information to call the police department's tip line at 919-989-8835.
