KALAMAZOO COUNTY, Mich.-- He’s known as ‘The Big Bandit,’ and now he’s federally indicted for robbing 3 West Michigan banks in the course of 8 days. After his third robbery, he led police on a dangerous chase and dash camera video shows he had no intention of ending until he escaped.
For Brian Standiford, this robbery wasn’t his first escape attempt from the law. He served prison time before last month’s robbery spree after heists in Indiana in the '90s. Court documents show he targeted West Michigan on his new run, thinking no one would recognize him.
On the afternoon Jan. 13 on Westbound I-94, Standiford was behind the wheel of a white Chevy Impala. He led police on a chase topping speeds of 100 miles per hour.
The same vehicle was spotted at two other recent bank robberies. Then he was spotted at the “Old National” in Kalamazoo County before the chase began.
New dash camera video shows a fleet of police vehicles heading in unison to perform what they called a ‘pit maneuver.' They deploy spike strips, even ram the Impala to try to stop the chase. It’s a final push from a patrol car that turns Standiford’s Impala around, causing him to lose control.
Ultimately, he ends up crashing into a snow bank.
The people that helped confirm Standiford’s identity in surveillance cameras at the bank and him driving the Chevy impala were his roommate and another friend that allowed him to borrow the car. Standiford had told the acquaintance that he was using the car to go to work.
