Morris Lynn Johnson is a Kentucky-born criminal, whose crimes include armed robbery, escape and rescue, bank robbery (with assault), and assaulting a police officer. He was briefly listed on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list in 1976.[1]
Morris Johnson was raised on a small farm outside Tompkinsville, Kentucky until his family moved to 4802 Beecher St. in the Drexel Gardens neighborhood of Indianapolis. Johnson's father Armer Johnson was a factory worker, and his mother Delcie Johnson was a short-order cook. Johnson had six siblings.[2]
Robbery Inc.Edit
According to Indianapolis media accounts, by the age of 24 (1962) Johnson was the leader of one of the most notorious band of bank bandits since the days of John Dillinger. Also, it was alleged that by 1963 Johnson's gang, dubbed "Robbery Inc." by Indianapolis police, had grown to around 100 members and was believed to be responsible for nearly 3,400 crimes between the years 1958 and 1963. Close associates of Johnson have claimed these assessments to be overblown, however.
ConvictionEdit
On April 10, 1963 a jury in Federal court at New Albany, Indiana convicted Johnson of robbing the Merchants National Bank and Trust Co. branch at 3119 English Ave. in Indianapolis of $8,890 in November 1962. Johnson drew an 18-year sentence for this crime and subsequently confessed to nearly 300 other major crimes.
EscapeEdit
On November 10, 1966 Johnson escaped from the Federal Penitentiary in Atlanta, GA with another inmate by piecing together a rickety ladder made of scraps and thereby scaling a 30-foot wall. Only one other inmate had ever escaped this prison, nearly 40 years prior. Almost two months later, Morris and another man robbed the American Fletcher National Bank branch at 2122 East 10th Street for $10,375. They were caught the same day. Johnson pleaded guilty and was sentenced to another 5 years in prison, plus an additional 3 years for the escape, plus the remainder of his original 15-year sentence.
ParoleEdit
In December 1973 Morris was paroled from McNeil Island Corrections Center. 18 months later, Johnson was arrested in Louisville, KY and charged with robbing a bank in Atlanta in March 1974 and burglarizing a bank in Marietta, GA in April 1974 in which he dug a 135-foot tunnel to enter the bank. He was then sent back to the Atlanta Penitentiary for 15 years.
Second escapeEdit
On Saturday, October 25, 1975 at 9 a.m., Johnson and Solomon K. Allen Jr. scaled the wall to escape the Atlanta Penitentiary. This was Johnson's second escape from this prison, and these escapes were the only two in a 50-year period.
Wife's arrestEdit
On April 30, 1976, Johnson's wife Laurie Kay Johnson, 34, and Franklin Rance, 39, a longtime associate were arrested when agents raided an apartment in Long Beach, Mississippi in an attempt to capture Morris. Johnson and another man reportedly fled the apartment, exchanging shots with FBI agents and local police.
Third escapeEdit
A year following his escape, Johnson was added to the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list on May 25, 1976. In less than a month, acting on an anonymous tip, federal agents captured him in New Orleans on June 26. Johnson then escaped from custody in Selma, Alabama on November 6. An accomplice sent hacksaw blades in the mail to Johnson, and the package had not been checked because it had a return address. Morris and five other prisoners sawed through the bars and fashioned a makeshift rope out of bed sheets to climb down to another part of the jail. On the ground level, they used an electrical cord to activate a device that controlled one door, and they broke a bar on another door to reach the outside. Morris was originally taken to this jail to testify in another trial. Johnson arrived at 2 p.m. that Saturday and escaped at 10 p.m. that same day; he had previously promised to send a message greeting his pursuers and, at Christmas, the judge and prosecutor in his court case as well as one of the FBI agents involved in his arrest received a card from Johnson which stated "I do my thing and you do your thing. If we should ever meet again, it's beautiful." Johnson was released in 2019.[3]
Man of the Year awardEdit
In 1976 Morris Johnson was nominated for the 1976 Indianapolis Star Man of the Year honor and was cited for "his initiative, intelligence and perseverance in dealing with the problems of prison security in our nation."
RecaptureEdit
Morris was recaptured on May 11, 1977 in Burnsville, Minnesota and was incarcerated at the Federal Prison in Lexington, KY. He was released in 2019.
Newton, Michael. Encyclopedia of Robbers, Heists, and Capers. New York: Facts On File Inc., 2002.
August 31, 2023
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For those of a similar name see Maurice Johnson disambiguation This biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification Please help by adding reliable sources Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately from the article and its talk page especially if potentially libelous Find sources Morris Johnson news newspapers books scholar JSTOR August 2012 Learn how and when to remove this template message Morris Lynn Johnson is a Kentucky born criminal whose crimes include armed robbery escape and rescue bank robbery with assault and assaulting a police officer He was briefly listed on the FBI s Ten Most Wanted list in 1976 1 Morris Lynn JohnsonFBI Ten Most Wanted FugitiveDescriptionBorn1936 or 1937 age 86 87 KentuckyStatusAddedMay 25 1976CaughtJune 26 1976Number342Captured Contents 1 Early life 2 Robbery Inc 3 Conviction 4 Escape 5 Parole 6 Second escape 7 Wife s arrest 8 Third escape 9 Man of the Year award 10 Recapture 11 See also 12 References 13 Further readingEarly life EditMorris Johnson was raised on a small farm outside Tompkinsville Kentucky until his family moved to 4802 Beecher St in the Drexel Gardens neighborhood of Indianapolis Johnson s father Armer Johnson was a factory worker and his mother Delcie Johnson was a short order cook Johnson had six siblings 2 Robbery Inc EditAccording to Indianapolis media accounts by the age of 24 1962 Johnson was the leader of one of the most notorious band of bank bandits since the days of John Dillinger Also it was alleged that by 1963 Johnson s gang dubbed Robbery Inc by Indianapolis police had grown to around 100 members and was believed to be responsible for nearly 3 400 crimes between the years 1958 and 1963 Close associates of Johnson have claimed these assessments to be overblown however Conviction EditOn April 10 1963 a jury in Federal court at New Albany Indiana convicted Johnson of robbing the Merchants National Bank and Trust Co branch at 3119 English Ave in Indianapolis of 8 890 in November 1962 Johnson drew an 18 year sentence for this crime and subsequently confessed to nearly 300 other major crimes Escape EditOn November 10 1966 Johnson escaped from the Federal Penitentiary in Atlanta GA with another inmate by piecing together a rickety ladder made of scraps and thereby scaling a 30 foot wall Only one other inmate had ever escaped this prison nearly 40 years prior Almost two months later Morris and another man robbed the American Fletcher National Bank branch at 2122 East 10th Street for 10 375 They were caught the same day Johnson pleaded guilty and was sentenced to another 5 years in prison plus an additional 3 years for the escape plus the remainder of his original 15 year sentence Parole EditIn December 1973 Morris was paroled from McNeil Island Corrections Center 18 months later Johnson was arrested in Louisville KY and charged with robbing a bank in Atlanta in March 1974 and burglarizing a bank in Marietta GA in April 1974 in which he dug a 135 foot tunnel to enter the bank He was then sent back to the Atlanta Penitentiary for 15 years Second escape EditOn Saturday October 25 1975 at 9 a m Johnson and Solomon K Allen Jr scaled the wall to escape the Atlanta Penitentiary This was Johnson s second escape from this prison and these escapes were the only two in a 50 year period Wife s arrest EditOn April 30 1976 Johnson s wife Laurie Kay Johnson 34 and Franklin Rance 39 a longtime associate were arrested when agents raided an apartment in Long Beach Mississippi in an attempt to capture Morris Johnson and another man reportedly fled the apartment exchanging shots with FBI agents and local police Third escape EditA year following his escape Johnson was added to the FBI s Ten Most Wanted list on May 25 1976 In less than a month acting on an anonymous tip federal agents captured him in New Orleans on June 26 Johnson then escaped from custody in Selma Alabama on November 6 An accomplice sent hacksaw blades in the mail to Johnson and the package had not been checked because it had a return address Morris and five other prisoners sawed through the bars and fashioned a makeshift rope out of bed sheets to climb down to another part of the jail On the ground level they used an electrical cord to activate a device that controlled one door and they broke a bar on another door to reach the outside Morris was originally taken to this jail to testify in another trial Johnson arrived at 2 p m that Saturday and escaped at 10 p m that same day he had previously promised to send a message greeting his pursuers and at Christmas the judge and prosecutor in his court case as well as one of the FBI agents involved in his arrest received a card from Johnson which stated I do my thing and you do your thing If we should ever meet again it s beautiful Johnson was released in 2019 3 Man of the Year award EditIn 1976 Morris Johnson was nominated for the 1976 Indianapolis Star Man of the Year honor and was cited for his initiative intelligence and perseverance in dealing with the problems of prison security in our nation Recapture EditMorris was recaptured on May 11 1977 in Burnsville Minnesota and was incarcerated at the Federal Prison in Lexington KY He was released in 2019 See also EditList of fugitives from justice who disappearedReferences Edit Google News Beaver County Times May 26 1976 Will Higgins November 30 2013 Follow the trail of Hoosier bank robber Morris Johnson IndyStar BOP Federal Inmates by Name Further reading EditNewton Michael Encyclopedia of Robbers Heists and Capers New York Facts On File Inc 2002 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Morris Johnson amp oldid 1171096760, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
