Andre Stander

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. 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 break, often returning to the crime scene as an Investigating Officer.^[1]

The Stander Gang

After robbing nearly 30 banks, Andre Stander was sentenced to 75 years in prison on 6 May 1980.^[1][2] However, since many of the charges in the sentence ran concurrently, he faced an actual sentence of 17 years. ^[3] Stander met two inmates named Allan Heyl and Lee McCall.^[1] On 11 August 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. 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.^[4] Stander and McCall returned to Zonderwater on 31 October 1983, in order to spring Allen Heyl from the facility where he was taking a trade test. 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).

McCall was killed on 30 January 1984 in a Police raid on the gang's hide-out in Houghton. Heyl fled to Greece, then England, then Spain and eventually back to England, where he was caught, tried and sentenced for robbery and a related arms charge to 9 years. After serving his time in the UK, he was extradited back to South Africa and was sentenced to 33 years in prison. Heyl was released on parole on 18 May 2005. At the time that McCall was being confronted by the Police back in South Africa, Stander had been in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, trying to arrange for the sale of the gang's recently purchased sailing yacht, the Lilly Rose, that they planned to use for their final getaway once they had acquired enough loot.

Andre was renowned for robbing a bank, and after hearing on the radio in the getaway vehicle about a hidden safe, brazenly returning to the same bank to collect the safe aswell.

Events leading to his death

While Stander remained in the United States, international arrest warrants and all points bulletins were issued for his arrest. 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. On 10 February 1984, police pulled Stander over while he was driving and arrested him for driving an unregistered vehicle. 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 released 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 colour. However, Tomasello had just read about the Stander Gang in a local newspaper. He told Stander that he would help him, got his information, and as soon as Stander had left, Tomasello called his lawyer. On his lawyer'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. 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

• Interest in Stander was first revived in 2000 with the play Stander by acclaimed South African playwright Charles J. Fourie in his one-man play featuring Afrikaans actor Albert Maritz. The production of the play was performed country wide in South Africa and was hailed by critics. "Fourie's play Stander is a joyous celebration of some peculiarly local strengths and weaknesses, Sam Shepard revisited in Springs, and hot theatre!" - (Mail & Guardian).
• Stander was the subject of the 2003 film Stander, starring American actor Thomas Jane as Andre Stander.

References

External links

• Whiter Than White - Article on the life and death of Andre Stander
• 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