Ex-NFL back arrested

Published 11:27 am Sunday, October 7, 2012

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Former NFL running back Larry Johnson was arrested early Friday at a Las Vegas Strip resort after an ex-girlfriend told police he choked her into unconsciousness and left her in her underwear in a hotel hallway.

Larry Alphonso Johnson Jr., 32, was being held on $15,000 bail at the Clark County jail pending an initial court appearance on a domestic violence-strangulation charge that could get him a minimum of two years in state prison if he is convicted.

Johnson was arrested about 4:30 a.m. at the Bellagio resort, according to a police report that said Johnson and the woman had been drinking alcohol before the altercation, and that the woman had marks on her face and bruises on her neck.

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The arresting officer said Johnson and the woman each told him about previous physical altercations, including one at another Las Vegas Strip hotel.

Johnson starred for the Kansas City Chiefs after being drafted from Penn State in the first round of the 2003 NFL draft.

Johnson played for the Cincinnati Bengals in 2009 and the Washington Redskins in 2010 before playing briefly for the Miami Dolphins in 2011.