A notorious graffiti artist is facing prison after filming himself spraying offensive slogans and posting them on his Instagram.
Johnny Crew, whose real name is John McMillan, became well known in Brighton for spraying his CREW tag across the city. In 2023, he was given a conditional caution in return for joining the council’s street cleaning crew for three sessions.
He’s now facing a stiffer penalty after admitting three counts of criminal damage and three counts of religiously aggravated criminal damage.
In one case, he filmed himself spraying the words “Fuck Islam and LGBTQ+” on a wall of the YMCA in Old Steine on 9 September.
Police Sergeant Daniel Gallichan, of the Hotspot Policing Team, said: “McMillan filmed himself committing an offence and shared the video on Instagram in an attempt to cause further harm.
“The evidence in this case was clear and indisputable, leaving him with no option but to plead guilty to all charges.
“We take all reports of hate crime extremely seriously. Everyone in Brighton and Hove deserves to feel safe, respected, and free from abuse or discrimination.”
McMillan, 49, uploaded the video, which shows him saying to the camera: “I didn’t become Johnny Crew for nothing”, spraying the slogan and then walking back to the camera to repeat the slogan, adding: “Bish bash bosh. Bash.”
Police identified the video on September 18, and then linked the handwriting to similar graffiti on the Sussex Beacon charity shop on St James’s Street and police property in New Road.
At the time, Rachel Brett, CEO of The Sussex Beacon, said: “I am shocked and saddened by this hateful act, which so starkly contrasts with the support and solidarity our city has shown to us for three decades.”
McMillan, of Lavender Street, appeared at Brighton Magistrates Court on 10 October, where he admitted the offences.
He was released on bail with a condition not to possess spray paint in public and to sign on at a police station once a week. He was arrested again the next week for failing to comply with signing on.
A pre-sentence report is being prepared ahead of his sentencing on 19 December. The maximum sentence for racially aggravated criminal damage is ten years in prison.
Sad little attention seeker.
You have to be all seven forms of stupid to film yourself braking the law.
Not really,, punishment for those “crimes” is not a lot and the chances of him paying for the damages is even less. ,, todays reality
Taggers and Vandals are definitely not Graffiti Artists, the more you give them the name artist, the more they’ll do it, they’re vermin.
Agree, we’ve got some excellent examples in Brighton of real graffiti artists. This guy, is just lowlife scum. A particularly stupid one at that.
What an absolute pillock but why did it take so long to take proper action, he’s been at it for years.
This guy already sounds sad and pathetic, and then you read he’s 49 years old!
49!
I hope he has no family locally. They must be so embarrassed.
He is from Edinburgh.
Please for the love of, can we just put in away for a few years. If he’s 49 and still acting like a 14 year old going around tagging, it’s time he got a real life lesson
If he lives in Lavender Street, does this mean there will be a vacant property available for more deserving people? Let him come out of prison and start at the bottom of the housing list again, that is if he can prove a local connection.
I agree with the above.These vandals and particularly this pathetic moron should be thrown in jail for a long time.A conditional caution or community work is pointless.People say the crime isn’t serious enough for jail but idiots like this have been blighting the city for decades causing untold distress and anxiety let alone despair at the defacing of a beautiful city.
Please, please, please stop using the term “artist” when referring to people like this pathetic moron – all they are is the human equivalent of a dog pi**ing on a lamp post but possessing less intelligence.
Perhaps he was expecting a nothing sentence again. Despite many tags, when caught before, “In 2023, he was given a conditional caution in return for joining the council’s street cleaning crew for three sessions”
Demented activity by bored sad individuals. Tagging is a massive blight on this city and finally something might be done about it.