Imagine that! Unusual crime spree hits Brazilian city where outlaws are all called John Lennon

Three people bearing The Beatles legend's name have been arrested

The Lennon arrests all happened in Belo Horizonte in the past two months

A fourth namesake was found dead after a suspected revenge killing

Police blame phenomenon on popularity of The Beatles in Brazil

Thousands of children were named after Lennon following his 1980 death



A Brazilian city is facing an unusual crime spree - where the criminals are called John Lennon.

Police in Belo Horizonte have arrested three bandits bearing the Beatles star’s name in little over a month - and found the body of a fourth after a suspected revenge killing.

The phenomenon has been blamed on the popularity of the band in Brazil - leading to thousands of mothers to name their newborn sons after him in the years after he was shot in 1980.

John Lennon Fonseca Ferreira, left, is described by police as one of the most wanted criminals in the state. He is one of three suspects arrested in the past two months who bear the name of The Beatles legend, right

Decades later, many of those offspring are now finding themselves in trouble with the police.

The most recent arrest came on Friday, when John Lennon Ribeiro Siqueira, 19, was caught as he prepared to rob a lottery shop in the the city, the capital of Minas Gerais state in south-east Brazil.

'He was armed and dangerous', a police spokesman said.

Meanwhile, John Lennon Fonseca Ferreira, 22 - described by police as one of the most wanted criminals in the state - was arrested during an attempted robbery at a house in the city on January 8.

And on December 19, police arrested John Lenon Camargos Gomes, 22, who is accused of five murders in Belo Horizonte.

The phenomenon in Belo Horizonte, pictured, has been blamed on the popularity of The Beatles in Brazil. Thousands of newborns were named after John Lennon following his death in 1980

The convicted drug trafficker is also accused of two attempted murders.

Some John Lennons are even less lucky. On January 9, the body of John Lennon Sebastiao da Silva, 18, was found in the back seat of a car in the city.