The Johnson Gang
Encyclopedia
The Johnson Gang is the collective name for a group of English
criminals from Cheltenham, Gloucestershire who specialised in stealing fine art and antiques from English country house
s over a period of 20 years. The goods they stole are estimated to be worth between £30 million and £80 million. The gang were sentenced to a total of 49 years in prison in August 2008.
The gang comprised Ricky Johnson (born 1954), his sons Richard "Chad" Johnson (born 1975) and Albi Johnson (born 1983), Daniel O'Loughlin (born 1976 and the nephew of Ricky Johnson) and Michael Nicholls (born 1979) the boyfriend of Ricky Johnson's daughter.
In addition to the thefts from stately homes the gang were involved in thefts from shops, cash machines and metal merchants.
In 2005, the BBC
made a documentary about the family called Summer with the Johnsons, in which they spoke about their love of such pursuits as hare coursing and bare-knuckle boxing. They denied having burgled any country homes, but Ricky Johnson said I would like to make it clear to the people out there, to the police and the rich people ... if I feel the need when I have got to rob a stately home, I will do so. I will rob it and hope I don’t get caught. But I will only rob your house if I feel the need and I have got to feed my children and nobody is helping me achieve my goal. I feel I have got the fucking right to rob the lords, the sirs and the ladies.
The gang are believed to have been operating for a period of more than 20 years. The most spectacular and lucrative thefts occurred in a period between April 2003 and June 2006. The gang staked out properties for several weeks before the crimes and used 4x4 vehicles to ram heavily bolted gates.
Notable thefts include Waddesdon Manor
on 10 June 2003, a National Trust
property and former Rothschild family
residence near Aylesbury
in Buckinghamshire
. Goods including 100 antique gold snuff
boxes worth around £
5 million were stolen. These boxes belonged to a charity rather than a rich person.
On 24 October 2005 the home of Formula One
motor racing tycoon Paddy McNally's mansion, Warneford Place, the former home of James Bond
creator Ian Fleming
, in Sevenhampton
, near Swindon
, Wiltshire
was burgled and items worth £750,000 were taken. The thieves removed heavy steel bars from the drawing room windows and bypassed the manor's security system.
On 1 February 2006 the gang perpetrated their biggest theft when they burgled Ramsbury Manor
, the home of Harry Hyams
, near Marlborough in Wiltshire
. The theft is believed to be the largest domestic burglary in the United Kingdom. Prosecutor Paul Reid said that This has been described as the most valuable domestic burglary ever committed in this country. The collection is described as priceless. There is a difficulty in putting a value on antiques and antiquities – some of them very precious and very rare – but it is tens of millions of pounds.
, Thames Valley
, Warwickshire
and West Mercia pooled their resources under the name Operation Haul. The police spent weeks examining CCTV footage, mobile phone records and images from speed cameras as they investigated 116 offences ranging from country house burglaries to cash dispenser thefts. In April 2006, detectives discovered an underground bunker at a field owned by an associate of the Johnsons near Stratford-upon-Avon
. Inside were a number of black bins containing straw and porcelain which was linked to the Ramsbury Manor burglary.
Police arrested Ricky Johnson and Daniel O'Loughlin in June 2006 for the theft of metals worth £360,000. They were convicted at Bristol
along with eight other associates in September 2007. They and the rest of the gang were charged with the other burglaries in October 2006. They were found guilty of conspiracy to commit burglary in August 2008 following a month long trial at Reading
Crown Court
. Richard "Chad" Johnson and Daniel O'Loughlin, were both jailed for 11 years, Michael Nicholls was given 10 years, Albi Johnson, aged 25, was jailed for nine years and Ricky Johnson was given eight years.
Despite the convictions, antiques worth tens of millions of pounds have yet to be recovered. Passing sentence, Judge Christopher Critchlow said Little of the property has been recovered and is no doubt well hidden in the countryside or passed on for disposal. Since the arrests only three items have been recovered: two clocks, including a Benjamin Vulliamy
bracket clock which aroused the suspicions of an auctioneer and a 17th century portrait by Abraham van Diepenbeck, stolen from Ramsbury, was also found in May 2008.
Since the arrests in 2006, Thames Valley Police have seen a 90 per cent reduction in offences attributable to the group and across all areas there has been a dramatic decrease in country house burglaries, and cash machine and metal thefts.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
criminals from Cheltenham, Gloucestershire who specialised in stealing fine art and antiques from English country house
English country house
The English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a London house. This allowed to them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these people, the term distinguished between town and country...
s over a period of 20 years. The goods they stole are estimated to be worth between £30 million and £80 million. The gang were sentenced to a total of 49 years in prison in August 2008.
The gang comprised Ricky Johnson (born 1954), his sons Richard "Chad" Johnson (born 1975) and Albi Johnson (born 1983), Daniel O'Loughlin (born 1976 and the nephew of Ricky Johnson) and Michael Nicholls (born 1979) the boyfriend of Ricky Johnson's daughter.
In addition to the thefts from stately homes the gang were involved in thefts from shops, cash machines and metal merchants.
In 2005, the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
made a documentary about the family called Summer with the Johnsons, in which they spoke about their love of such pursuits as hare coursing and bare-knuckle boxing. They denied having burgled any country homes, but Ricky Johnson said I would like to make it clear to the people out there, to the police and the rich people ... if I feel the need when I have got to rob a stately home, I will do so. I will rob it and hope I don’t get caught. But I will only rob your house if I feel the need and I have got to feed my children and nobody is helping me achieve my goal. I feel I have got the fucking right to rob the lords, the sirs and the ladies.
Crimes
Notable thefts include Waddesdon Manor
Waddesdon Manor
Waddesdon Manor is a country house in the village of Waddesdon, in Buckinghamshire, England. The house was built in the Neo-Renaissance style of a French château between 1874 and 1889 for Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild . Since this was the preferred style of the Rothschilds it became also known as...
on 10 June 2003, a National Trust
National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty
The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
property and former Rothschild family
Rothschild family
The Rothschild family , known as The House of Rothschild, or more simply as the Rothschilds, is a Jewish-German family that established European banking and finance houses starting in the late 18th century...
residence near Aylesbury
Aylesbury
Aylesbury is the county town of Buckinghamshire in South East England. However the town also falls into a geographical region known as the South Midlands an area that ecompasses the north of the South East, and the southern extremities of the East Midlands...
in Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
. Goods including 100 antique gold snuff
Snuff
Snuff is a product made from ground or pulverised tobacco leaves. It is an example of smokeless tobacco. It originated in the Americas and was in common use in Europe by the 17th century...
boxes worth around £
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
5 million were stolen. These boxes belonged to a charity rather than a rich person.
On 24 October 2005 the home of Formula One
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
motor racing tycoon Paddy McNally's mansion, Warneford Place, the former home of James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
creator Ian Fleming
Ian Fleming
Ian Lancaster Fleming was a British author, journalist and Naval Intelligence Officer.Fleming is best known for creating the fictional British spy James Bond and for a series of twelve novels and nine short stories about the character, one of the biggest-selling series of fictional books of...
, in Sevenhampton
Sevenhampton, Wiltshire
Sevenhampton is a small village in the ceremonial county of Wiltshire, England, to the north-east of Swindon. It lies at the bottom of a valley, with fairly steep climbs out of the village in both directions....
, near Swindon
Swindon
Swindon is a large town within the borough of Swindon and ceremonial county of Wiltshire, in South West England. It is midway between Bristol, west and Reading, east. London is east...
, Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
was burgled and items worth £750,000 were taken. The thieves removed heavy steel bars from the drawing room windows and bypassed the manor's security system.
On 1 February 2006 the gang perpetrated their biggest theft when they burgled Ramsbury Manor
Ramsbury Manor
Ramsbury Manor is a country house at Ramsbury, Wiltshire, in the south of England, now a Grade I listed building.The house was built in 1680 by John Webb, a son-in-law of Inigo Jones...
, the home of Harry Hyams
Harry Hyams
Harry Hyams is an English millionaire who made his fortune as a speculative property developer. He is best known as the developer of the Centre Point office building in London. He is considered to be reclusive, and is the long-term owner and resident of Ramsbury Manor, near Marlborough in Wiltshire...
, near Marlborough in Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
. The theft is believed to be the largest domestic burglary in the United Kingdom. Prosecutor Paul Reid said that This has been described as the most valuable domestic burglary ever committed in this country. The collection is described as priceless. There is a difficulty in putting a value on antiques and antiquities – some of them very precious and very rare – but it is tens of millions of pounds.
Investigation and convictions
In October 2005 the police forces of GloucestershireGloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
, Thames Valley
Thames Valley
The Thames Valley Region is a loose term for the English counties and towns roughly following the course of the River Thames as it flows from Oxfordshire in the west to London in the east. It includes parts of Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, North Hampshire, Surrey and west London...
, Warwickshire
Warwickshire
Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...
and West Mercia pooled their resources under the name Operation Haul. The police spent weeks examining CCTV footage, mobile phone records and images from speed cameras as they investigated 116 offences ranging from country house burglaries to cash dispenser thefts. In April 2006, detectives discovered an underground bunker at a field owned by an associate of the Johnsons near Stratford-upon-Avon
Stratford-upon-Avon
Stratford-upon-Avon is a market town and civil parish in south Warwickshire, England. It lies on the River Avon, south east of Birmingham and south west of Warwick. It is the largest and most populous town of the District of Stratford-on-Avon, which uses the term "on" to indicate that it covers...
. Inside were a number of black bins containing straw and porcelain which was linked to the Ramsbury Manor burglary.
Police arrested Ricky Johnson and Daniel O'Loughlin in June 2006 for the theft of metals worth £360,000. They were convicted at Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
along with eight other associates in September 2007. They and the rest of the gang were charged with the other burglaries in October 2006. They were found guilty of conspiracy to commit burglary in August 2008 following a month long trial at Reading
Reading, Berkshire
Reading is a large town and unitary authority area in England. It is located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway, some west of London....
Crown Court
Crown Court
The Crown Court of England and Wales is, together with the High Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal, one of the constituent parts of the Senior Courts of England and Wales...
. Richard "Chad" Johnson and Daniel O'Loughlin, were both jailed for 11 years, Michael Nicholls was given 10 years, Albi Johnson, aged 25, was jailed for nine years and Ricky Johnson was given eight years.
Despite the convictions, antiques worth tens of millions of pounds have yet to be recovered. Passing sentence, Judge Christopher Critchlow said Little of the property has been recovered and is no doubt well hidden in the countryside or passed on for disposal. Since the arrests only three items have been recovered: two clocks, including a Benjamin Vulliamy
Benjamin Vulliamy
Benjamin Vulliamy , was a clockmaker responsible for building the Regulator Clock, which, between 1780 and 1884, was the official regulator of time in London.- Biography :...
bracket clock which aroused the suspicions of an auctioneer and a 17th century portrait by Abraham van Diepenbeck, stolen from Ramsbury, was also found in May 2008.
Since the arrests in 2006, Thames Valley Police have seen a 90 per cent reduction in offences attributable to the group and across all areas there has been a dramatic decrease in country house burglaries, and cash machine and metal thefts.