After leaving Ridley High School in Pennsylvania in 1970, he attended Florida Bible College.
At university, Johnson was frequently at odds with teachers and other students, and was expelled in 1978 for insufficient academic performance.
[4] In 1980, now penniless and subsisting on odd jobs and petty theft, Johnson stole the Ames Stradivarius from Totenberg's dressing room after a concert.
In the early 1990s, Johnson found a measure of success after forming the musical trio Mobius with cellist Michael Fitzpatrick and pianist Xak Bjerken.
[4] Johnson's former wife discovered the Stradivarius in his belongings and attempted to sell it in 2015, not knowing the violin's origin and value.