UK Riots: Laura Johnson, Millionaire's Daughter, Faces Jail After Burglary Conviction

Convicted Millionaire's Daughter Faces Jail Over UK Riots Offences

A millionaire's daughter could be jailed on Friday after she was convicted of driving looters on a late-night crime spree at the height of last summer's riots.

University-educated Laura Johnson, 20, chauffeured the group through London on August 8 last year in her black Smart car.

As they cruised around the capital, her passengers leapt from the car clad in hooded tops, bandanas and balaclavas to loot.

In April, the University of Exeter undergraduate, from Orpington, south-east London, was convicted at Inner London Crown Court of one count of burglary and one of handling stolen goods.

Johnson and a 17-year-old accomplice, who cannot be named for legal reasons, were bailed to return to the same court today.

They were both convicted of burgling a Comet store at the Greenwich Retail Park and stealing electrical goods between August 7 and 10 as rioters brought chaos to the capital. They were also convicted of handling stolen goods.

The teenager had previously admitted burglary by stealing alcohol and cigarettes from a BP garage in Charlton.

Johnson set out early on the evening of August 8 to deliver a phone charger to her friend Emmanuel Okubote, 20, a convicted cocaine dealer and thief, known as T-Man.

When they met in Catford, south London, he jumped into the passenger seat while three others climbed into the back.

Johnson told police she was told to drive from one place to another over several hours as violence spread across the city.

When she stopped, her passengers - most of whom she claimed to have never met before - looted and robbed people at knifepoint.

Johnson - who is reading English and Italian at university - is a former grammar school pupil who reportedly achieved four A*s and nine As at GCSE.

The university said it would wait for sentencing before deciding whether to take any additional action against her.

Johnson is the daughter of Robert and Lindsay Johnson who own direct marketing business Avongate Ltd.

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