Teenage Barnsley 'menace' behind string of violent robberies, gang beatings and car jackings locked up
An 19-year-old “menace” who chased a man home with a machete before smashing a window and waving the blade through the front door is behind bars.
Jayden Johnson, of Stotfield Drive, Thurnscoe, was just 18 when he carried out a string of violent offences and frightening robberies, often against complete strangers, over eight terrifying weeks in mid-2025.
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They ranged from dragging a delivery driver from his car and beating them senseless before driving off, to battering a man three-on-one to take his phone - to even cutting the lock on a farm shop honesty box so he could make off with £25 and two boxes of eggs.
“You ruin people’s lives - not least your own,” said Her Honour Judge Rachael Harrison flatly at his sentencing at Sheffield Crown Court on March 11.
“It would be proper to describe you as a menace to any member of the public who has the misfortune of coming across you.”
Johnson, who appeared in court in a T-shirt, pursed his lips and smirked throughout the hearing as his crimes were read out, and made kissing noises and winks to his supporters in the public gallery as he was sentenced.
Stealing a farm honesty box
The string of crimes read out in court began with an incident on March 2, 2025, when Johnson and two other males went to a Barnsley farm to buy apple juice.
They returned to their car - then came back moments later with their faces covered and equipped with wire cutters.
They stole two boxes of eggs and cut the farm’s honesty box free, which had around £25 inside.
Johnson was identified by officers from CCTV, and later gave no comment in a police interview.
Threats to kill
Hours after being released from this police interview on April 29, Johnson threatened to kill a man.
On April 29, 2025, Johnson was passing time on a street in Barnsley when he saw a man he was feuding with drive past.
The man was travelling with his pregnant partner in the passenger seat when he realised Johnson was following the car on the back of a motorcycle with a knife in his hand.
When the bike pulled up, Johnson swung the knife at the passenger window and wing mirror, shouting, “I’m going to ****ing kill you,” before the victims drove away.
This developed into a second offence on May 15, when he chased the man into his home with a machete and screamed he would “chop his head off.”
Chasing a man down with a machete
On May 15, the same man and his now heavily-pregnant partner, along with the man’s father, were arriving home when they saw a furious Johnson sprinting towards them up the street. As he ran, he reached into his jacket and produced a machete.
The woman locked herself in the car while the terrified man and his father ran inside and shut the front door.
Johnson smashed a window of the front door and stuck the blade through the opening.
“I’m going to ****ing kill you, I’m going to chop off your head,” screamed Johnson as he hammered on the door.
The court heard how Johnson left, and later messaged the pregnant woman that it was “up to [her partner] what happens next,” and whether he “wants this to carry on.”
Johnson would not be arrested for another 46 days after this incident, during which time his victim and his partner feared the 18-year-old would come to their home at any moment. They described the “relief” when they heard Johnson had been remanded in prison.
But, in the meantime, Johnson was free to terrify and assault more people - such as the man he robbed four days prior.
Robbing a stranger for his phone
On May 10, a man was walking in Thurnscoe when he became aware of two men - one of them Johnson - walking in the same direction as him but on the other side of the road.
However, one of them then called “boss man, you got a problem with us?”
The man turned to see the two men crossing the road, with one of them holding his phone as if he was filming him.
Confused, the man said he didn’t know them - when a third man appeared behind him, and the flurry of punches and kicks began.
Together with the two other men, Johnson and the gang held the man’s arms and assaulted him in a group beating.
The man later told police how the first punch sent his vision blurry for 10 seconds as more blows rained down.
At one point, one of the attackers said: “We will not go home, we will kill you.”
The assault concluded with one of the men throwing a brick, which struck the victim in the head.
They made off with his phone, worth £500. When the man got away and into a nearby shop, one of his attackers returned and gestured through the locked glass door for him to come outside.
Much of the attack was caught on CCTV and Johnson was again recognised by police. He later made no comment in interviews.
The next day, Johnson took part in a scam to steal and trash a man’s car.
Scamming a man out of his car through Facebook Marketplace
Also in the dock with Johnson at the sentencing today was McKenzie Wharton, 19, also of Stotfield Drive, who was facing a charge of fraud.
This related to an incident on May 11, when a man hoped to sell his VW Passat through Facebook Marketplace for £1,000.
But he had the misfortune of being messaged by Wharton, who asked him to meet up for a test drive.
On May 11, the victim arrived at the pre-arranged location where he was met by Wharton - and another young man, Johnson, who he was not told would be there.
Wharton asked for a test drive, and the three drove away.
When Wharton agreed to buy the car, he made a show of getting his phone out and saying he was sending £1,000 through via bank transfer.
But the money did not arrive. And when the man held firm that nothing had arrived, even messaging his bank to confirm, the mood turned threatening.
From the backseat, Johnson claimed he was late for work and told the victim to get a move on, and pressured him to get out.
“As far as we’re concerned we’ve paid you, so get out,” said Johnson.
He then opened the man’s door and told him to “get out, or it’s going to get bad for you.”
The pair accused the victim of being a scammer, with Johnson adding: “If we wanted to take your car, you wouldn’t be in it right now.”
Frightened, the victim got out of the car and the pair sped off. It was later recovered but found badly damaged.
Later, the victim saw Wharton had deleted his Facebook profile.
Two weeks later, Johnson and his friends then took another car, this time by dragging a man from the driver’s seat and beating him to a pulp.
Dragging a delivery driver from his car
On May 23, a delivery driver in Thurnscoe was in his Suzuki SX4 when a gang of three men, including Johnson, appeared in the road and forced him to brake.
They surrounded the vehicle and banged on the car, before opening the door and pulling him from the driver’s seat.
CCTV caught the incident, with one of the three meting out over 20 punches and six kicks.
For his part, Johnson stamped on the man twice before getting behind the wheel and driving off with the other men. The vehicle was recovered 40 minutes later.
‘A menace to members of the public’
Jayden Johnson’s crime spree was halted when he was arrested on June 27.
He later pleaded guilty to theft of a motor vehicle, two counts of robbery, three counts of possessing a knife in public, theft, actual bodily harm, attempted aggravated burglary and making threats to kill.
Various victim impact statements from his victims were read aloud in court, with many of them saying they could not understand why they were attacked out of nowhere by a complete stranger.
Judge Harrison said in mitigation how Johnson, now aged 19, was considerably immature, and said she had read reports detailing how he “suffered a terrible childhood.” She added that she did not see fit to find him dangerous.
Jayden Johnson was sentenced to five years and seven months in a young offenders’ institute.
McKenzie Wharton
For his single count of fraud for taking part in the scam to take a man’s car, Wharton was handed an 18 month community order and 26 Rehabilitation Activity Requirement (RAR) days.
Judge Harrison told the 19-year-old if he was absent without permission from his probation days just twice, she “will” send him to prison.