Gang members

• Bruce Johnston Sr., Gang leader
• David Johnston
• Norman Johnston
• Richard Mitchell, who later became a witness for the State
• James Griffin, who later became a witness for the State
• Edward Otter
• Davis Schonely
• Leslie Dale, who later became a witness for the State
• Gary Wayne Crouch, deceased
• Richard Donnell, who was believed to have drowned fellow gang member Jack W. Baen
• Roy Meyers, who later became a witness for the State
• Jack W. Baen, who drowned in 1970; murder charges were filed against Leslie Dale and Richard Donnell
• Francis Matherly
• Ancell E. Hamm, who 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 also one of the earliest Johnston Gang members who was convicted.

1971

In August 1971, the gang targeted the Dutch Wonderland theme park on Lincoln Highway East. The police believe that the main culprits were David, Norman, and Bruce, Sr., and that they got away with $33,000 worth of cash and property.

1972

Ancell E. Hamm murdered two Kennett Square patrolmen. As a result, police began intensively investigating the gang's activities.

1975

The gang broke into the shop at Meadia Heights Country Club in Lancaster, PA. They drilled holes in the side of the shop and disarmed the alarm system, and used dynamite to gain access to a safe. They made off with $15,000 in money and golf equipment, none of which was ever recovered.

1976

Janet Gazzerro and her husband Frank were convicted of bribing a juror in the Chester County Common Pleas Court where Bruce Johnston, Sr. and others were accused of the theft of a tractor. Janet and Frank received $83,000 in stolen rugs, jewelry and furs. Janet testified that Bruce Sr. gave her two or three garden tractors; she said she kept two and gave the third to the juror as a bribe. Bruce Sr., David and Norman Johnston, and Roy Myers were acquitted of the theft charges.

When the police were gathering information about the burglary ring, Manheim resident Gary G. Hauck was asked to testify. Hauck had bought a piece of farm equipment but was not aware it was stolen by the Johnston gang in 1976. Police traced the equipment it back to the ring and wanted Hauck to testify about whom he had purchased it from. Hauck, then a self-employed auto-body worker, told a reporter he had gotten a call at 2 a.m. 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 dynamite under the seat of his truck, but that it wasn't rigged to explode. Hauck investigated, found five sticks of dynamite, and did not identify anyone at the hearing. Later, during a trial of the brothers, Hauck said he had lied at that hearing because of the threat.

1977

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 in Chester County. In 1981 they were serving 2- to 4-year sentences for convictions on state charges for this crime.

August 1978 victims

As the Johnston Gang came under increased police surveillance due to their high-profile activities, they began an assassination campaign to eliminate potential witnesses.

• James "Jimmy" Johnston (18) — murdered August 16, 1978
• Duane Lincoln (17) — murdered August 16, 1978
• Wayne Sampson (20) — murdered August 16, 1978
• James Sampson (24) — murdered August 21, 1978
• Robin Miller (15) (girlfriend of Bruce Johnston Jr.) — murdered August 30, 1978
• Bruce Johnston Jr. (19) — critically injured during an attempted murder - August 30, 1978

1979

The brothers were found guilty of stealing farm tractors in Ephrata and selling them to an associate. They were sentenced to 4 to 9 years in prison for the thefts. Bruce Sr. appealed this conviction, 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 six consecutive life sentences.

David and Norman were convicted of the murders of James Johnston, Robin Miller, Wayne Sampson, and Duane Lincoln. They each received four 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.