Norman Johnston, whose notorious gang inspired the movie 'At Close Range,' was loose for 18 days before he was caught a mile from Longwood Gardens.
The ongoing manhunt for Danelo Cavalcante, who escaped Aug. 31 from Chester County Prison, brings to mind the search for Norman Johnston, another convicted murderer who escaped from a state prison in August 1999 and eluded authorities for 18 days before he was finally caught about a mile from Longwood Gardens.
Once out, he quickly stole a 1966 Land Rover — one of four vehicles he would steal and none made later than 1980, the year he was sentenced to four consecutive life sentences. The gang specialized in John Deere tractors, and at one point more John Deere tractors were stolen by Johnston gang members than were stolen in the rest of the nation combined, said Bruce Mowday, a former reporter with the Daily Local News in Chester County andJohnston apparently tried to contact some relatives, but even with his stolen cars, he never traveled beyond Chester County, northern Maryland, and Delaware, which encompassed the Johnston brothers’ old stomping grounds.
Part of the public view of Johnston was influenced by the movie “At Close Range,” which was inspired by the Johnston Gang but did not hew close to actual facts. “They were absolutely ruthless,” said Carroll, who worked as a young prosecutor on the case and later served as district attorney from 2002 to 2012.
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