NYC Bouncer Charged With Abduction

A bar bouncer accused of killing a graduate student in February was charged Thursday with abducting another college student last fall while posing as a law enforcement officer.

Darryl Littlejohn, 41, pleaded not guilty at his arraignment on charges of kidnapping, assault, robbery and criminal impersonation.

He was already in custody without bail and had pleaded not guilty to murder charges in the death of Imette St. Guillen, a Boston native enrolled in the graduate program at John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

Defense attorney Kevin O'Donnell said that in each case Littlejohn would "maintain his innocence until the day he dies."

"He has not touched in a criminal manner in his entire life," O'Donnell said.

Authorities say DNA evidence links Littlejohn to both crimes.

They said Littlejohn grabbed the 19-year-old York College student in Queens on Oct. 19 while wearing what appeared to be a law enforcement uniform: a dark shirt with the words "Fugitive Agent," matching pants, and a gun belt with a pair of handcuffs, a walkie-talkie and a silver handgun in its holster, authorities said.

He asked her for identification, and after she complied, he handcuffed her, took her cell phone and forced her into a van, Assistant District Attorney Frank DeGaetano said.

She tried to escape but he punched her twice in the face and threw a jacket over her head, he said. Five minutes later, she managed to kick open the van's rear doors and fled with only bruises.

DeGaetano said DNA from the handcuffs was matched to Littlejohn, and the victim was able to identify the suspect's van. She identified Littlejohn as her kidnapper when he appeared on television after his arrest in the St. Guillen case, Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown said.

She was "deeply traumatized by the ordeal," Brown said at a news conference.

Littlejohn, a parolee with a long criminal history, could face up to 25 years if convicted in the Queens case. A conviction in the St. Guillen slaying could bring a sentence of life without parole.

St. Guillen was last seen alive at a Manhattan bar where Littlejohn was working. Her body was found dumped in Brooklyn on Feb. 25. Authorities said she had been raped, strangled and suffocated.

A manager at the bar where she was last seen told police that Littlejohn escorted St. Guillen out after closing time and he heard them arguing.

Investigators said DNA evidence linked Littlejohn to blood found on ties used to bind St. Guillen's hands, and that fibers discovered on the tape that was on St. Guillen's head when her body was found dumped in Brooklyn are consistent with fibers with three items in Littlejohn's apartment.

In an exclusive interview with WCBS-TV reporter Scott Weinberger, Littlejohn said from jail last month that police have "the wrong person" and he did not kill St. Guillen, although he did escort her from the bar at closing time, as he would anyone still on the premises at that time of night.

"The focus really shouldn't be on me, it should be on them finding who is really responsible for this young lady's tragic death," Littlejohn said in the jailhouse interview.