SMITHFIELD -- Police have arrested a Raleigh firefighter trainee and charged him with abducting two women in Smithfield for the purpose of sexually assaulting them.
Daniel Robert Muller, 24, of 1097 Black Angus Drive in Johnston County's Cleveland community, faces two counts of first-degree kidnapping and one count each of first-degree sexual assault and attempted first-degree sexual assault.
Police say they think Mul ler offered a ride to a 40-year-old woman about 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 along Oak Street in Selma several hours later. She told police she'd been tied to a tree. She was "battered, but OK," Powell said.
After Muller's arrest Saturday, investigators connected him to a similar abduction that was reported May 25. In that incident, a 43-year-old woman was offered a ride on West Street, a few blocks away from Smithfield Market. She also was threatened with a gun but escaped before she was assaulted, Powell said. Those charges were filed Tuesday.
Muller was connected to the crimes through his ATM card purchases, Powell said, though he didn't steal anything from the women. He has refused to answer questions from police
Police don't think he knew 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 because he has missed training sessions since his arrest, McGrath said. The chief said Muller cleared a background check when he was hired.
Muller is being held in the Johnston County jail, his bail set at $350,000. Powell declined to say whether Muller is suspected of any other crimes, but he asked that anyone with information call the police department's tip line at 989-8835.
