"The Johnston Gang" - Bruce Alfred Johnston Sr. (born March 27, 1939 – Died August 8, 2002 (aged 63) in Grateford Prison in Graterford, Pennsylvania.) was one of the most notorious "gang" leaders from the 1960's to 1978 in Pennsylvania which lead to him being sentenced to 6 consecutive life sentences.
According to a 1980 Pennsylvania Crime Commission report the Johnston gang mostly stole in Chester County however they made it all the way to Lancaster County regularly and crossed state lines into Maryland and Delaware. They stole anything of value. They had a multitude of skills ranging from lock
picking, cracking safes to disarming and diverting security systems. They used walkie-talkies, had police scanners and even called in false crimes to redirect the state police.
The Johnston Gang consisted of:
- Bruce Johnston Sr. (pictured)
- David Johnston- Norman Johnston
- Richard Mitchell - Became a witness for the State
- James Griffin - Became a witness for the State
- Edward Otter
- Davis Schonely
- Leslie Dale - Became a witness for the State
- Gary Wayne Crouch - deceased
- Richard Donnell
- Roy Meyers - Became a witness for the State
- Jack W. Baen was drowned in 1970. murder charges were filed against Leslie
- Dale and Richard Donnell
- Francis Matherly
- Ancell E. Hamm - killed two police officers of the Kennett Square Police Department, William Davis and Richard Posey, in 1972 and was sentenced to two consecutive life terms. He was one of the first members of the Johnston Gang.
Officially Recognized Crimes of The Johnston Gang
In August 1971 at Dutch Wonderland's castle on Lincoln Highway East, one of the gang forced the door to the park's shop open, a small building hidden that was not visible from the road. They gathered a hammer, crowbar, rope and torch. They brought their own walkie-talkies. This would later become the worst burglary ever of this popular tourist attraction. The police believe the culprits were David, Norman and Bruce Johnston Sr and other members of the "Johnston Gang". They stole $33,000 worth of property.
In 1972 Ancell E. Hamm - a known associate of the Johnston brothers gang - murdered two Kennett Square patrolmen. After that, police began heavily pursuing the gang's activities. Gary G. Hauck had purchased one of the stole pieces of farm equipment from The Johnston Gang. When the police figured this out, they requested that Gary testify to who he had purchased the it from. At 2:00AM the morning of the preliminary hearing. The voice on the other end of the phone strongly urged Gary not to identify anyone. The caller also wanted to make sure Gary knew he was serious with his request by telling him he would fine dynamite under the seat of his truck. The voice also told him that it wasn't hooked up. When Gary went to check, he found the dynamite and never made any identification. During the brothers trial, Gary said this was the reason he lied.
In 1975, the gang broke into the pro shop at Meadia Heights Country Club located in Lancaster. They stole $15,000 in money and golf equipment. They drilled holes in the side of the Meadia Heights pro shop to disarm the alarm system and used dynamite to blow the safe. None of the stole items were ever recovered.
In 1976, Janet Gazzerro and her husband Frank were convicted of bribing a juror who was on the Chester County Common Pleas Court where Bruce Johnston Sr. - as well as others - were accused of the theft of a tractor. As payment, Janet and Frank had received $83,000 in stolen Oriental rugs, jewelry and furs. Janet claimed that Bruce Sr. had given her two or three garden tractors. She claimed that she had kept one or two and the third one went to the juror. Bruce Sr., David and Norman Johnston and Roy Myers were in the end acquitted of the theft charges.
In April of 1977, the brothers moved $21,900 in stolen cigarettes across state lines. The brothers all plead guilty to this crime in 1981. In May of 1977, the three brothers stole $28,000 from Longwood Gardens in Chester County. In 1981 they ended up serving two- to four-year sentences for convictions on state charges of this crime.
The victims from 1978
- James "Jimmy" Johnston (18 years) half brother to Bruce Jr. was murdered on August 16, 1978- Dwayne Lincoln (17 years) was murdered on August 16, 1978
- Wayne Sampson (20 years) was murdered on August 16, 1978
- James Sampson (24 years) was murdered on August 21, 1978
- Robin Miller (15 years, girlfriend of Bruce Johnston Jr.) was murdered on August 30, 1978 (pictured)
- Bruce Johnston Jr. (19 years) was critically injured during an attempted murder on August 30, 1978
Investigations, Arrests, Trials & the Appeal
In 1979, the brothers were found guilty of stealing farm tractors in Ephrata and selling them. They were sentenced to four to nine years for these crimes. Bruce Sr. tried to appeal, but the police were already right on the trail of the brothers for their murdering the younger members of the gang to cover up
additional burglaries.
In 1981, Bruce Sr. was convicted of the first degree murders of Gary Crouch, James Johnston, James Sampson, Robin Miller, Wayne Sampson and Duane Lincoln as well as the attempted murder of Bruce Jr. He was sentenced to 6 consecutive life sentences.
David and Norman were also convicted of the murders of James Johnston, Robin Miller, Wayne Sampson and Duane Lincoln. Both of them received 4 life sentences. In 1987, the Johnston brothers returned to court looking to get new trials. Their attorneys claimed that in the previous trial, it was not revealed to the defense that key witness James Griffin, who was a former gang member, had testified under an immunity agreement with the U.S. Attorney's Office. They wanted to know whether or not he made a similar agreement with the local and state police in exchange for his
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