Police: MU student severely beat, kidnapped girlfriend (wore "I am Trayvon" shirt previous evening"
Lancaster Online ^ | 3/27/2012 | BRETT HAMBRIGHT
A Millersville University student is charged with severely beating his ex-girlfriend and kidnapping her from a campus dormitory this weekend. Akeem M. Johnson, 24, punched the victim at least 10 times Saturday morning before forcing her from her room at Burrowes Hall and into his car, according to a police affidavit. The victim, also a student, told police that Johnson was mad that "she stayed out all night and (he) could not find her," a Millersville University police officer wrote in the affidavit. The victim, who isn't being identified by the Intelligencer Journal/Lancaster New Era, sustained a split lip and broken teeth, according to the affidavit. Johnson is at Lancaster County Prison on charges of felony kidnapping, unlawful restraint, assault and reckless endangerment. Bail was set at $200,000. Johnson is a senior communications and broadcast major. He lived in Germantown, near Philadelphia, before attending school at Millersville, according to a criminal complaint. On Friday night, he stood prominently at an on-campus rally regarding the death of Florida teenager Trayvon Martin, holding a sign saying, "I am Trayvon Martin." Trayvon, a black 17-year-old boy, was killed last month by a neighborhood crime-watch volunteer. He was unarmed. Johnson and about 50 other MU students rallied Friday night in ceremony for the slain teen. A few hours later, police allege, Johnson went to Burrowes Hall to find his ex-girlfriend. She wasn't there, so he waited in the lobby. The affidavit outlines the alleged crimes that followed this way: The victim, who lives on the third floor, arrived and walked to an elevator. Johnson was "agitated," and he confronted the woman there. They both got into the elevator, and Johnson started beating the woman's head. The elevator stopped on the third floor, but Johnson kept the woman in the elevator car, and they went back to the first floor. "Once in the lobby, Johnson was manhandling (the victim), grabbing her around the waist and pulling and pushing her around," the officer wrote in the affidavit. Johnson then forced the woman out a side door and into his car and drove back to his residence on Pickwick Place, near campus. Neighbors saw Johnson "dragging" the woman across a yard. One neighbor intervened, and the woman fled. She reached the police station and reported the crimes. Johnson was arrested later in the day and was arraigned Sunday morning by District Judge Nancy Hamill. Johnson was a a running back on MU's football team in 2006 and 2009 and was one of the team's leading rushers during those seasons. He attended Germantown High School, where he set school rushing records for yards in a game and yards in a season.
