Andre Stander (1946 – 13 February 1984) was a police Captain at the CID branch of Kempton Park Police Station, South Africa who began robbing banks in the 1970s, and later became known in popular media as the head of the Stander Gang in the early 1980s. Events 1258 - Baghdad falls to the Mongols, and the Abbasid Caliphate is destroyed Year 1984 ( MCMLXXXIV) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1984 Gregorian calendar) The Republic of South Africa (also known by other official names) is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa His father, Frans Stander, was a general in the South African Department of Correctional Services.
Andre became well-known for the audacious manner with which he carried out his crimes: He would sometimes rob banks on his lunch hour, and he would often return to the scene of the crime as an investigating officer. [1]
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The Stander Gang
After robbing nearly 30 banks, Andre Stander was sentenced to 75 years in prison in 1980. [1] Stander met two inmates named Allan Heyl and Lee McCall. Allan Heyl was a member of the Stander Gang in the late 1970s in South Africa. Lee McCall (born 1950 - died 01/30/1984 was a member of the Stander Gang, a group of three escaped convicts who went on a bank robbing spree in South Africa from [1] On August 11, 1983, Stander and McCall, along with five other inmates, were taken off of Zonderwater maximum security prison's premises for an appointment with a physiotherapist. Events 2492 BC - Traditional date of the defeat of Bel by Hayk, progenitor and founder of the Armenian nation Year 1983 ( MCMLXXXIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1983 Gregorian calendar) Once the prisoners were left alone with the doctor, Stander and McCall overpowered her and escaped. The other prisoners refused to participate and stayed behind. [2] Stander and McCall returned to Zonderwater on October 31, 1983, in order to spring Allen Heyl from the facility where he was taking a trade test. Events 445 BC – Ezra reads the Book of the Law to the Israelites in Jerusalem (see Nehemiah 91 NLTse Year 1983 ( MCMLXXXIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1983 Gregorian calendar) From that day until the end of January, 1984, the three began robbing banks together, under the nom de guerre of The Stander Gang (which was a creation of the news media, not of the gang). A pseudonym is a fictitious alternative to a person's legal name (see Alias)
Stander's partner McCall was killed January 30, 1984 in a police raid on the gang's hide-out in Houghton. Events 1648 - Eighty Years' War: The Treaty of Münster is signed ending the conflict between the Netherlands and Spain Year 1984 ( MCMLXXXIV) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1984 Gregorian calendar) Houghton Estate is a suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa. Part of it is located in Region 3, the other part in Region 4. Heyl fled to Greece, then England (where he committed a payroll snatch), then Spain, and eventually back to Surrey, England, where he was caught, tried, and sentenced for the payroll robbery and a related arms charge to 9 years. Greece (Ελλάδα transliterated: Elláda, historically, Ellás,) officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. After serving his time in the UK, he was extradited back to South Africa and was sentenced to 33 years in prison. Extradition is the official process by which one nation or state requests and obtains from another nation or state the surrender of a suspected or convicted criminal Heyl was released on parole on May 18, 2005. Parole may have different meanings depending on the field and judiciary system Events 1152 - Henry II of England marries Eleanor of Aquitaine. Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. At the time that McCall was being confronted by the police back in South Africa, Stander had been in Fort Lauderdale, FL, trying to arrange for the sale of the gang's recently purchased sailing yacht that they planned to use for their final getaway once they had acquired enough loot. Fort Lauderdale, known as the "Venice of America" due to its expansive and intricate Canal system is a city in Broward County, Florida, A yacht is a recreational boat It designates two rather different classes of Watercraft, sailing and power yachts
Events leading to his death
While Stander remained in the United States, international arrest warrants and all points bulletins were issued for his arrest. An All Points Bulletin (APB is a broadcast issued from one law enforcement agency to another Trying to make the best of the situation, Stander created the false identity of an Australian author named "Peter Harris", and forged a driver's license. Afterwards, he visited a used car lot and purchased a Ford Mustang from a dealer named Anthony Tomasello. The Ford Mustang sports coupe, manufactured by the Ford Motor Company, was initially based on the Ford Falcon On February 10, 1984, police pulled Stander over while he was driving and arrested him for driving an unregistered vehicle. Events 1355 - The St Scholastica's Day riot breaks out in Oxford, England, leaving 63 scholars and perhaps 30 locals dead Year 1984 ( MCMLXXXIV) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1984 Gregorian calendar) Being relatively unknown to the American authorities at that time, Stander presented his false ID to the police, who recognized it as a forgery, and subsequently seized it (adding driver's license forgery to his list of offenses) but believed his story about his identity and released him. Once release on the same evening, Stander returned to the police impound lot where his seized Mustang was being kept, broke in and stole the car. On the following morning, Stander returned to the same used car lot where he had purchased the vehicle and asked the same dealer, Tomasello, to have the car re-painted in a different color. However, Tomasello had just read about the Stander Gang in a local paper. He told Stander that he would help him, got his information, and as soon as Stander had left, Tomasello called his attorney. An attorney at law (or attorney-at-law) in the United States is a practitioner in a court of law who is legally qualified to prosecute On his attorney's advice, Tomasello called the local police.
Based on Tomasello's information, a police tactical unit surrounded the apartment that Stander had been using as a hideout - but Stander wasn't there. SWAT ( Special Weapons And Tactics) is an elite special operations tactical unit in American Police departments similar to the Taiwan Thunder Squad He had acquired a bicycle to use while he left his car with Tomasello to be repainted. He had left the apartment on the bicycle, and returned only after the police had surrounded it. As he unknowingly rode up to the apartment complex, Officer Michael van Stetina (who had been posted on the perimeter) recognized Stander and attempted to stop him. Stander tried to get away, but as Stetina prevented his escape a struggle for the officer's shotgun began. The gun discharged and Stander was hit. He immediately fell to the apartment complex's driveway, bleeding profusely. Stetina immediately radioed for an ambulance. Although Officer Stetina tried to administer first aid, Stander's wounds were too extensive and while waiting for the ambulance to arrive, he bled to death.
Biographical film
- Stander was the subject of the 2003 film Stander. Stander is a 2003 biographical film about Captain André Stander, a South African Police officer who turned into a Bank
References
External links
- Stander at the Internet Movie Database
- Carte Blanche Interview with Alan Heyl, the last surviving member of The Stander Gang who was released early 2005
- Rob Marsh's Famous South African Crimes
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