Bruce Johnston (criminal)
Encyclopedia
Bruce Alfred Johnston Sr (March 27, 1939 – August 8, 2002) was the leader of one of the most notorious gang
s in the history of Pennsylvania
, USA. The gang started in the 1960s and was rounded up in 1978 after his son, Bruce Jr, testified against him.
, according to a 1980 Pennsylvania Crime Commission report, but they made their way into Lancaster County
on several occasions. They also crossed the state lines to Maryland
and Delaware
. They stole items ranging from antiques to drugs.
In each break-in or theft, gang members used their skill in picking locks, cracking safes and disarming or averting security systems. They used walkie-talkie
s and police scanners. While planning a job in one part of the county, they would divert the state police by phoning a false report elsewhere.
's castle on Lincoln Highway East
. One of the men pried open the door to the park's shop, a small building hidden from the road. The burglars gathered a hammer, crowbar, rope and torch. They brought their own walkie-talkies. The men prepared for descent into the park office, in what would later become the worst-ever burglary of the popular tourist attraction. The police believe the culprits were David, Norman and Bruce Johnston Sr and their associates—all members of the "Johnston Gang". The burglars got $33,000 worth of loot.
They all pleaded guilty to this crime in 1981.
May: The three brothers stole $28,000 from Longwood Gardens
in Chester County.
In 1981 they were serving two- to four-year sentences for convictions on state charges of this crime.
With the Kiddy gang, they stole small garden tractors, dealt in cigarettes and a lot more. They also stole car parts for Bruce Sr. to resell.
In the summer of 1977, while Bruce Jr. was in prison for petty crimes, his girlfriend Robin Miller claimed she had been raped by Bruce Sr. Bruce Jr., then 20, agreed to testify against the family, according to newspaper accounts of the gang. He had been planning to marry his girlfriend and got angry, so, on Aug. 9, told a federal grand jury in Philadelphia what he knew.
As investigators began questioning other members of the gang, including Bruce Sr.'s stepson James "Jimmy" Johnston, the three senior Johnstons plotted to kill the informants.
In August 1977, Jimmy Johnston and three other members of the Kiddy gang were shot in the head in a field and buried in a common grave. Kiddy gang member James Sampson—whose younger brother was killed earlier—demanded to know where his brother was and was killed in the same way and dumped in a landfill.
Norman and David tried to carry out a $15,000 contract placed by Bruce Sr. on his son. On August 30, 1977, Bruce Jr. was hit by eight bullets during an attack outside his then-fiancée Robin Miller's area home as they were in a Volkswagen Rabbit . He survived and later testified against his father and uncles. Miller died in the attack by two shots in the face.
Bruce Jr was placed in the federal witness protection program and, two weeks after the attack he suffered, he testified at a preliminary hearing. He has since left the program and goes by his real name.
under the seat of his truck, but that it wasn't hooked up. Hauck looked and found five sticks of dynamite, and did not identify at the hearing. Later, during a trial of the brothers, Hauck said he had lied at the hearing because of the threat.
Bruce Sr appealed, but the police were already hot on the trail of the brothers for murdering the young members of the operation to cover up other burglaries.
David and Norman were convicted of the murders of James Johnston, Robin Miller, Wayne Sampson and Duane Lincoln. They both received 4 life sentences.
, but he was transferred to Camp Hill, Pennsylvania
after his 1999 escape. He is currently located in Forest, Pennsylvania. Bruce was in Graterford, Pennsylvania
until his death in 2002.
When Norman escaped, Bruce Sr and David were moved to solitary confinement
. Bruce appealed against this many times.
Norman was on America's Most Wanted
on August 15, 1999.
Norman is only 9 years older than his nephew Bruce Jr.
James Johnston and his brother Bruce Jr. were raised by Grandmother Harriet Steffy and Great-Aunt Sarah Martin and only started hanging around with their father a few years before the murders.
Three of the Kiddy Gang murder victims (Wayne Sampson, 20, Duane Lincoln, 17, and James Johnston, 18) had disappeared in August and were shot and buried along the infamous Devil's Road/Cult House Road [Cossart Road] along the Northern Delaware/Pennsylvania Border in Pennsbury Township, Pennsylvania
. This road is also the location where some of the film The Village (2004 film)
was filmed.
, a Chester County reporter who covered the Johnstons' trials for the West Chester (Pa.) Daily Local News, wrote Jailing the Johnston Gang: Bringing Serial Murders to Justice in 2009. It is published by Barricade Books.
1999: According to the state police, Norman Johnston was tired and said, "You [troopers] wouldn't quit."
was based on the thefts leading up to the murders in 1977. Christopher Walken
plays Brad Whitewood Sr, the alias in the movie for Bruce Johnston Sr.
Gang
A gang is a group of people who, through the organization, formation, and establishment of an assemblage, share a common identity. In current usage it typically denotes a criminal organization or else a criminal affiliation. In early usage, the word gang referred to a group of workmen...
s in the history of Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, USA. The gang started in the 1960s and was rounded up in 1978 after his son, Bruce Jr, testified against him.
The Gang
The gang and its wide network stole primarily in Chester CountyChester County, Pennsylvania
-State parks:*French Creek State Park*Marsh Creek State Park*White Clay Creek Preserve-Demographics:As of the 2010 census, the county was 85.5% White, 6.1% Black or African American, 0.2% Native American or Alaskan Native, 3.9% Asian, 0.0% Native Hawaiian, 1.8% were two or more races, and 2.4% were...
, according to a 1980 Pennsylvania Crime Commission report, but they made their way into Lancaster County
Lancaster County, Pennsylvania
Lancaster County, known as the Garden Spot of America or Pennsylvania Dutch Country, is a county located in the southeastern part of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, in the United States. As of 2010 the population was 519,445. Lancaster County forms the Lancaster Metropolitan Statistical Area, the...
on several occasions. They also crossed the state lines to Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
and Delaware
Delaware
Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...
. They stole items ranging from antiques to drugs.
In each break-in or theft, gang members used their skill in picking locks, cracking safes and disarming or averting security systems. They used walkie-talkie
Walkie-talkie
A walkie-talkie is a hand-held, portable, two-way radio transceiver. Its development during the Second World War has been variously credited to Donald L. Hings, radio engineer Alfred J. Gross, and engineering teams at Motorola...
s and police scanners. While planning a job in one part of the county, they would divert the state police by phoning a false report elsewhere.
Gang members
- Bruce Johnston, Sr.
- David Johnston
- Norman Johnston
- Richard Mitchell → later became a witness for the State
- James Griffin → later became a witness for the State
- Edward Otter
- Davis Schonely
- Leslie Dale → later became a witness for the State
- Gary Wayne Crouch, deceased
- Richard Donnell
- Roy Meyers → later became a witness for the State
- Jack W. Baen, drowned in 1970; murder charges were filed against Leslie Dale and Richard Donnell
- Francis Matherly
- Ancell E. Hamm: killed two police officers, William Davis and Richard Posey, in 1972 and was sentenced to two consecutive life terms. He was one of the earliest Johnston Gang members.
1971
August 1971: Dutch WonderlandDutch Wonderland
Dutch Wonderland is a amusement park just east of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, appealing primarily to families with small children. The park's theme is a "Kingdom for Kids." The entrance to the park has a real stone castle façade, which was built by Earl Clark, a potato farmer, before he opened the...
's castle on Lincoln Highway East
Lincoln Highway
The Lincoln Highway was the first road across the United States of America.Conceived and promoted by entrepreneur Carl G. Fisher, the Lincoln Highway spanned coast-to-coast from Times Square in New York City to Lincoln Park in San Francisco, originally through 13 states: New York, New Jersey,...
. One of the men pried open the door to the park's shop, a small building hidden from the road. The burglars gathered a hammer, crowbar, rope and torch. They brought their own walkie-talkies. The men prepared for descent into the park office, in what would later become the worst-ever burglary of the popular tourist attraction. The police believe the culprits were David, Norman and Bruce Johnston Sr and their associates—all members of the "Johnston Gang". The burglars got $33,000 worth of loot.
1975
The gang broke into the pro shop at Meadia Heights Country Club in Lancaster, PA. They made off with $15,000 in money and golf equipment later that year. They drilled holes in the side of the Meadia Heights pro shop and disarmed the alarm system. They dynamited the safe. None of the merchandise was recovered.1976
Janet Gazzerro and her husband Frank were convicted of bribing a juror who was on the Chester County Common Pleas Court where among others Bruce Johnston Sr was accused of the theft of a tractor. Janet and Frank received $83,000 in stolen Oriental rugs, jewelry and furs. Janet said that Bruce Sr gave her two or three garden tractors, she kept one or two and the third one went to the juror. Bruce Sr, David and Norman Johnston and Roy Myers were acquitted of the theft charges.1978
April: The brothers transported $21,900 in stolen cigarettes across state lines.They all pleaded guilty to this crime in 1981.
May: The three brothers stole $28,000 from Longwood Gardens
Longwood Gardens
Longwood Gardens consists of over 1,077 acres of gardens, woodlands, and meadows in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, United States in the Brandywine Creek Valley...
in Chester County.
In 1981 they were serving two- to four-year sentences for convictions on state charges of this crime.
Kiddy Gang
In 1977 Bruce Johnston Jr. started the Kiddy gang under supervision of his dad Bruce Sr.With the Kiddy gang, they stole small garden tractors, dealt in cigarettes and a lot more. They also stole car parts for Bruce Sr. to resell.
In the summer of 1977, while Bruce Jr. was in prison for petty crimes, his girlfriend Robin Miller claimed she had been raped by Bruce Sr. Bruce Jr., then 20, agreed to testify against the family, according to newspaper accounts of the gang. He had been planning to marry his girlfriend and got angry, so, on Aug. 9, told a federal grand jury in Philadelphia what he knew.
As investigators began questioning other members of the gang, including Bruce Sr.'s stepson James "Jimmy" Johnston, the three senior Johnstons plotted to kill the informants.
In August 1977, Jimmy Johnston and three other members of the Kiddy gang were shot in the head in a field and buried in a common grave. Kiddy gang member James Sampson—whose younger brother was killed earlier—demanded to know where his brother was and was killed in the same way and dumped in a landfill.
Norman and David tried to carry out a $15,000 contract placed by Bruce Sr. on his son. On August 30, 1977, Bruce Jr. was hit by eight bullets during an attack outside his then-fiancée Robin Miller's area home as they were in a Volkswagen Rabbit . He survived and later testified against his father and uncles. Miller died in the attack by two shots in the face.
Bruce Jr was placed in the federal witness protection program and, two weeks after the attack he suffered, he testified at a preliminary hearing. He has since left the program and goes by his real name.
Members
- Bruce Johnston Jr.
- James Johnston (18)
- Duane Lincoln (17)
- Wayne Sampson (20)
- James Sampson (24)
- Robin Miller (15)
Gary G. Hauck
When the police were gathering information about the burglary ring, Manheim resident Gary G. Hauck was asked to testify. Hauck had unknowingly bought a piece of farm equipment stolen by the Johnston gang in 1976. Police traced it back to the ring and wanted Hauck to testify who he had bought it from. Hauck, then a self-employed auto body worker, told a reporter he had gotten a call at 2:00 the morning before the preliminary hearing. The caller urged him not to identify anyone at the hearing. To convince Hauck that he wasn't fooling, the caller said Hauck would find dynamiteDynamite
Dynamite is an explosive material based on nitroglycerin, initially using diatomaceous earth , or another absorbent substance such as powdered shells, clay, sawdust, or wood pulp. Dynamites using organic materials such as sawdust are less stable and such use has been generally discontinued...
under the seat of his truck, but that it wasn't hooked up. Hauck looked and found five sticks of dynamite, and did not identify at the hearing. Later, during a trial of the brothers, Hauck said he had lied at the hearing because of the threat.
Victims
- Gary Crouch — killed in 1977
- James Johnston (18) — killed in 1977
- Duane Lincoln (17) — killed in 1977
- Wayne Sampson (20) — killed in 1977
- James "Jimmy" Sampson (24) — killed August 21, 1978
- Robin Miller (15) — killed in 1977
Investigation, Arrest, Trial and Appeal
In 1972 an associate of the Johnston brothers murdered two Kennett Square patrolmen. After that, police began heavily pursuing the gang's activities.1977
The brothers were found guilty of stealing farm tractors in Ephrata and selling them to an associate. They were sentenced to four to nine years for the thefts.Bruce Sr appealed, but the police were already hot on the trail of the brothers for murdering the young members of the operation to cover up other burglaries.
1981
Bruce was convicted of the murders of Gary Crouch, James Johnston, James Sampson, Robin Miller, Wayne Sampson and Duane Lincoln and for the attempted murder of Bruce Jr. He received 6 consecutive life sentences.David and Norman were convicted of the murders of James Johnston, Robin Miller, Wayne Sampson and Duane Lincoln. They both received 4 life sentences.
1987
The Johnston brothers returned to the courts seeking new trials. Their attorneys were claiming that in the former trial it wasn't revealed to the defense that key witness James Griffin, a former gang member, had testified under an immunity agreement with the U.S. Attorney's Office. The attorneys wanted to know whether or not he made a similar agreement with local and state authorities in exchange for freedom. On the witness stand Griffin testified that he was never prosecuted for committing about 150 burglaries while a member of the gang.Trivia
David is serving his time in Greene, Pennsylvania. Norman was in Huntingdon, PennsylvaniaHuntingdon, Pennsylvania
Huntingdon is a borough in Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania. It is the county seat of Huntingdon County. It is located along the Juniata River, west of Harrisburg, about halfway between Pittsburgh and Harrisburg, in an agricultural and fruit-growing region, with valuable forests and deposits of...
, but he was transferred to Camp Hill, Pennsylvania
Camp Hill, Pennsylvania
Camp Hill is a borough in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, 2 miles southwest of Harrisburg. It is part of the Harrisburg–Carlisle Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 7,636 at the 2000 census...
after his 1999 escape. He is currently located in Forest, Pennsylvania. Bruce was in Graterford, Pennsylvania
Graterford, Pennsylvania
Graterford is in Perkiomen Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.Founded in 1756 by Jacob Kreator, a textile weaver, Graterford was originally named Grater's Ford until abbreviated to Graterford by the postal service in the mid 1950s...
until his death in 2002.
When Norman escaped, Bruce Sr and David were moved to solitary confinement
Solitary confinement
Solitary confinement is a special form of imprisonment in which a prisoner is isolated from any human contact, though often with the exception of members of prison staff. It is sometimes employed as a form of punishment beyond incarceration for a prisoner, and has been cited as an additional...
. Bruce appealed against this many times.
Norman was on America's Most Wanted
America's Most Wanted
America's Most Wanted is an American television program produced by 20th Television, and was the longest-running program of any kind in the history of the Fox Television Network until it was announced on May 16, 2011 that the series was canceled after twenty-three years, with the final episode...
on August 15, 1999.
Norman is only 9 years older than his nephew Bruce Jr.
James Johnston and his brother Bruce Jr. were raised by Grandmother Harriet Steffy and Great-Aunt Sarah Martin and only started hanging around with their father a few years before the murders.
Three of the Kiddy Gang murder victims (Wayne Sampson, 20, Duane Lincoln, 17, and James Johnston, 18) had disappeared in August and were shot and buried along the infamous Devil's Road/Cult House Road [Cossart Road] along the Northern Delaware/Pennsylvania Border in Pennsbury Township, Pennsylvania
Pennsbury Township, Pennsylvania
Pennsbury Township is a township in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 3,604 at the 2010 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of , of which is land and , or 1.10%, is water.-Demographics:As of the census of...
. This road is also the location where some of the film The Village (2004 film)
The Village (2004 film)
The Village is a 2004 American fantasy-thriller film written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan about a end-of-the-19th-century village whose inhabitants live in fear of the creatures inhabiting the woods beyond it. The movie was shot in a recreation of a 19th-century village outside Philadelphia,...
was filmed.
Books
Bruce MowdayBruce Mowday
Bruce E. Mowday is an author and Republican political activist who lives in Chester County, Pennsylvania. He specializes in books about local history.- Books :...
, a Chester County reporter who covered the Johnstons' trials for the West Chester (Pa.) Daily Local News, wrote Jailing the Johnston Gang: Bringing Serial Murders to Justice in 2009. It is published by Barricade Books.
I spent more than two years of my professional life trailing the investigative team from courtroom to courtroom and to several counties in Pennsylvania following the legal proceedings. I was out at nights when the bodies of the Johnstons' murder victims were unearthed. My most memorable days as a reporter were during the reporting of these murder cases.
Quotes
1999: "We asked him [Norman Johnston], 'Was it worth it?' and he said, 'Not for 20 days.'"1999: According to the state police, Norman Johnston was tired and said, "You [troopers] wouldn't quit."
Film & television
The movie At Close RangeAt Close Range
At Close Range is a film based on the real life rural Pennsylvania crime family led by Bruce Johnston, Sr. which operated during the 1960s and 1970s. It was released on April 18, 1986, and stars Sean Penn, Christopher Walken, Chris Penn, Mary Stuart Masterson, Millie Perkins, Candy Clark and...
was based on the thefts leading up to the murders in 1977. Christopher Walken
Christopher Walken
Christopher Walken is an American stage and screen actor. He has appeared in more than 100 movies and television shows, including Joe Dirt, Annie Hall, The Deer Hunter, The Prophecy trilogy, The Dogs of War, Sleepy Hollow, Brainstorm, The Dead Zone, A View to a Kill, At Close Range, King of New...
plays Brad Whitewood Sr, the alias in the movie for Bruce Johnston Sr.