Charles E. Johnson (FBI Most Wanted fugitive): The True Crime Story and Key Facts

Charles E. Johnson was a New York burglar who was listed on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted during 1953. He was a professional boxer. While still a teenager, Johnson was first arrested for burglary in 1921. He continued committing burglary and armed robbery throughout the 1920s until his eventual arrest in 1934 after a robbery in New York. Sentenced to serve four to eight years imprisonment, he was transferred to Dannemora Prison after he shot a police officer during a failed jailbreak from Sing Sing Prison. Although released briefly for six months, he remained imprisoned from 1935 until 1952.

Why the case is remembered

The Charles E. Johnson (FBI Most Wanted fugitive) story remains one of the most discussed entries in true-crime history, covered in documentaries, podcasts and books. The summary above follows the publicly documented record.

Text adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Facts reflect the documented public record.