The Dougherty Gang was a group of three siblings whose brief crime spree caught the attention of the Nation. The Dougherty Gang consisted of Lee Grace Dougherty and her two brothers Ryan Dougherty and Dylan Dougherty. In this article on My Crime Library we are going to take a closer look at the bizarre crime spree of the Dougherty Gang
Early Years Of The Dougherty Gang
The Dougherty Gang were from Florida and everything came to a terrible end when Ryan had to attend court to answer to charges of “sending a minor harmful information” and “lewd and lascivious conduct.” which came from an incident where Ryan was texting a girl who he thought was thirteen years old but turned out to be eleven years old. Ryan Dougherty had entered the courtroom thinking he was facing five years of probation however he was in for a surprise.
Ryan Dougherty was sentenced to two years of house arrest, ten years of probation and if he screwed up was facing fifteen years in prison. However the part of sentencing that stopped Ryan cold was that he was to be placed on Florida Sex Offender list.
After leaving the courtroom Ryan Dougherty would head over to his probation officer who would tell him that he was not allowed to have any contact with anyone under the age of 18 and would not allow to attend his girlfriend’s birth nor live in her house. Ryan would freak out.
Ryan’s nightmare was not over as he was told that he would have to wear a ankle bracelet which would cost $240, which was a quarter of Ryan’s income. The most pressing item though was that Ryan would need two pieces of identification within the next 48 hours or he was on his way to prison. Ryan Dougherty who did not have a mailbox was frantic he was headed to prison for no mailbox would mean obtaining another piece of identification was nearly impossible.
Ryan would head home and call his brother Dylan Dougherty and sister Lee Grace Dougherty to explain the predicament that he had found himself in. The three siblings would write note to each other as they believed that the ankle bracelet had an audio feature so that his probation officer could hear of their plans. In the end the three siblings came up with a horrible plan that would see all of them end in prison for a very long time.
The Crime Spree Begins – The Dougherty Gang
The next morning Ryan Dougherty and Dylan Dougherty would pack the vehicle with a number of guns, a ton of ammunition, clothes, food and water. A few miles down the road Ryan ankle bracelet would be cut off and thrown into a bush. Ryan who had a heavy foot was speeding down a Florida road when he was spotted by a Zephyrhills police officer. Ryan tried to outrun the Officer however it was not until someone from their vehicle would fire a number of gunshots at the officer ending with his vehicle being disabled due to a flat tire. The Dougherty Gang would somehow be able to escape the police dragnet and get out of Florida and ended up in Georgia.
Georgia Bank Robbery – The Dougherty Gang
The Dougherty Gang would enter the CertusBank in Valdosta, Georgia where two of them were heavily armed. The photo later released by the FBI (pictured above) is believed to be Lee Grace Dougherty. The robbery for the Dougherty gang went rather smooth as they were able to get away with just over $5000. However now they had a new problem as the FBI.
The Dougherty Gang would stick to the back roads and would drive all over the country until they ended up in Colorado.
Police Shootout – The Dougherty Gang
The Dougherty Gang would end up in Colorado as they tried to figure out how they were going to cross the border into Mexico however their plans were soon halted when they attracted an undercover police officer and once again a police chase began.
Ryan Dougherty would get their vehicle up to 120 miles per hour however the police chase was not going to let them go. Soon after the vehicle would run over a spike strip that would instantly flatten a number of the vehicles tires. The vehicle would smash into a guardrail and the Daugherty gang would find themselves outside of the vehicle and surrounded by armed police officers. The police would shoot Lee Grace Daugherty as she threatened police with a weapon. Soon after all three would be in custody going to jail after stopping at the hospital for treatment
Dougherty Gang Aftermath
Now the three Daugherty siblings were in a jail in Colorado and were facing a host of charges stemming from shooting at the police officer in Florida, the bank robbery in Georgia and the final police chase in Colorado. After a lot of legal wrangling the three siblings would receive thirty five years in prison for the bank robbery in Georgia, Ryan Daugherty would receive 18 years for his part in Colorado where his sister Lee Grace would receive 24 years and Dylan would receive 34 years. Ryan Dougherty would receive an additional 40 years in prison for shooting at a police officer and failing to register as a sex offender. Needless to say it will be a long time before they ever get out of jail
Dylan Dougherty 2024 Information
| DYLAN DOUGHERTY STANLEY | |
| Register Number: 95594-020 | |
| Age: | 39 |
| Race: | White |
| Sex: | Male |
| Located at: Oxford FCI | |
| Release Date: 05/21/2037 |
Ryan Dougherty 2024 Information
DC Number: V29355
Name: DOUGHERTY, RYAN E
Race: WHITE
Sex: MALE
Birth Date: 08/21/1989
Initial Receipt Date: 07/25/2014
Current Facility: FEDERAL CUSTODY
Current Custody: PENDING
Current Release Date: 07/06/2054
Lee Grace Dougherty 2024 Information
| DC Number: | X58080 |
|---|---|
| Name: | DOUGHERTY, LEE G |
| Race: | WHITE |
| Sex: | FEMALE |
| Birth Date: | 05/29/1982 |
| Initial Receipt Date: | 02/14/2023 |
| Current Facility: | FEDERAL CUSTODY |
| Current Custody: | PENDING |
| Current Release Date: | 11/30/2051 |
Dougherty Gang More News
The three “Dougherty gang” siblings, who went on a multi-state crime spree in 2011, were sentenced to prison today in Colorado. Among them, they will serve 74 years behind bars.
Ryan Dougherty, 22, the last to be sentenced, was given 18 years in prison. He had faced a maximum of 20 years after pleading guilty to five counts of menacing.
Earlier today, his sister, Lee Grace Dougherty was sentenced to 24 years in prison. Dylan Dougherty, 27, received a 32-year sentence.
Lee Grace Dougherty, 29, had faced a maximum of 28 years for pleading guilty to first-degree assault and two counts of menacing.
Dylan Dougherty was the only one of the three to be given the maximum sentence. He pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree assault, according to ABC News’ Denver affiliate KMGH. The siblings’ crimes included a Colorado shootout with police and a daring bank robbery in Georgia.
“Contrary to a lot of people’s beliefs, I never intended to…I never tried to…I never wanted to hurt anybody,” an emotional Dylan Dougherty told the Huerfano County judge.
“It is true that I acted out of desperation and I am sorry for the choices that I made,” he said tearfully. “I don’t know really what things differently I would have done, but I truly am sorry to anyone who was involved.”
He apologized to police and to bystanders who could have been hurt, and said that his actions were “not to my character.”
Officials in Georgia are waiting for the siblings to be extradited for charges related to the bank robbery. After today’s sentencing in Colorado, they are expected to be transported to Albany, Ga., by the U.S. Marshals Service for a hearing May 15.
The three were allegedly driving as fast as 100 miles per hour on Aug. 2 when a Zephyrhills, Fla., police officer tried to pull them over. They fired 20 shots at the officer and escaped when one of the bullets hit the police car’s tire. The officer was not injured.
Later that day, the Dougherty gang allegedly robbed a Valdosta, Ga., bank while wearing masks and firing rounds at the ceiling from an AK-47 rifle.
Police caught up with the three on Aug. 10, 2011 in Colorado after receiving a tip that they had been spotted buying camping equipment. After a 20-mile chase down a Colorado Interstate, the Doughertys’ car flipped over and landed on top of a guard rail.
The siblings share a lengthy criminal history that included 20 felonies among them before the additional 70 charges they racked up from their 2011 crime spree. Their previous charges range from drug possession to battery and burglary.
The Dougherty Gang Other News
Three Florida siblings involved in a cross-country crime spree were sentenced by a federal judge Monday to more than 35 years in jail.
Senior Judge Hugh Lawson sentenced Ryan Dougherty, Lee Grace Dougherty and Dylan Dougherty Stanley to identical sentences for their role in the August 2011 robbery of a South Georgia bank. Their spree began in Florida and ended in a shootout in Colorado.
Lawson went beyond normal sentencing guidelines, saying that even though the trio was young and impulsive, the “escapade” could not be condoned.
“Let me say this – this was a crazy dangerous thing,” Lawson said from the bench. “I just think it is a miracle that no one was killed.”
Dylan Dougherty Stanley and Lee Grace Dougherty did not voice opposition to the sentence, but Ryan Dougherty called the judge’s decision rash and “not in line with the crimes I’ve committed.”
Before the sentences were announced, the three siblings apologized to the employees at the Valdosta bank where the robbery took place. Dylan Dougherty Stanley acknowledged that it was a “scary situation” for them.
Lawson sentenced each sibling to 35 years and 8 months, and to five years of supervised release after their prison sentences. He said that with good conduct they could get out of jail after 30 years.
The three have already pleaded guilty to Colorado charges stemming from their capture in August 2011. Ryan Dougherty got 18 years, Lee Grace Dougherty received 24 years and Dylan Dougherty Stanley got 32 years for those charges.
They still face charges in Florida, where they are accused of shooting at an officer during a high-speed chase.
The sentencing hearing took more than two hours, and all three siblings were in the courtroom. Ryan Dougherty and Lee Grace Dougherty wore orange prison uniforms; Dylan Dougherty Stanley wore a gray-striped one. All were handcuffed and in leg chains.
Attorneys for the siblings argued that certain factors should not have been considered in their sentence, including what they did in Colorado. The attorneys argued with the judge about whether their high-speed chase and shootout there a week after the robbery was part of their “immediate flight” after the Valdosta bank robbery.
Lawson rejected the objections and said the three were in Colorado because they were in “continuous flight.”
The siblings became wanted fugitives Aug. 2, 2011, when they fled from a police officer trying to pull over their car for speeding northeast of Tampa, Fla. The chase reached speeds of 100 mph, and at least 20 gunshots were fired from the fleeing car at the pursuing officer. The suspects got away after a bullet burst a tire on the police car.
A few hours after the chase and 210 miles away, the three fugitives put on masks and sunglasses before storming into the Certus Bank in Valdosta. Security cameras recorded Stanley, armed with an AK-47 style assault rifle, and his sister, with a machine pistol, firing one shot apiece into the ceiling.
Their brother, meanwhile, stuffed $5,168 from teller drawers into a tool bag, and the three escaped. No one was injured.
The hunt ended eight days after it began when two retired law officers in Colorado spotted the suspects in the San Isabel National Forest. The fugitives again tried to escape, leading police on a 20-mile chase on Interstate 25 that ended in Walsenburg, about 150 miles south of Denver.
Shots were fired at the officers before troopers used spike strips to puncture the tires of the suspects’ Subaru. Lee Dougherty bolted from the crash on foot. An officer shot her in the leg after she pointed a pistol at him, authorities said.
In court Monday, the lawyer for Lee Grace Dougherty said she pointed her weapon at the officer in Colorado only because she was afraid someone would shoot her brother and because she was suicidal and wanted police to shoot her.
John Gee Edwards, a Valdosta attorney, told the judge that the three siblings endured an abusive childhood and that Lee Grace Dougherty had been hospitalized for depression and anxiety.
Dougherty Gang Photos
