Boy Follows His Dad Into Gang Life. Both Are Killed.
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He died 9 days shy of his 20th birthday.
Andrew was affectionately known as Head by his family and friends, and he was born and raised in Compton.
He started playing different sports at the age of 5, but once he discovered football, that was all he wanted to do.
And sometimes, he even played in two leagues at once.
As he got older, Andrew was introduced to the gang life.
His father, Andrew Bender II, was a well-known member of the neighborhood Compton Crips and went by the nickname Lil Bubbs.
Andrew followed his father into the gang life and also became a member of neighborhood and also went by the nickname Bubbs.
His mother, Tiffany, noticed him getting involved in the streets and knew that his goal was to make it to the NFL.
So, in an effort to keep him safe and focused on football, she moved the family out of Compton when he was in 10th grade and enrolled him in Poly High School in Long Beach, which has one of the best football programs in the state.
Andrew joined the team and was doing well, but he developed back problems and had to sit out his senior year.
He graduated in 2014 and enrolled in Long Beach City College, but after learning that his girlfriend, Siana, was pregnant, he dropped out of college and got a job working as a security guard to provide for his family.
Siana gave birth to their daughter a few months after Andrew’s death.
Adel spoke with Tiffany about the shooting.
He told her that a 36-year-old member of the Atlantic Dr.ive Compton Crips named Anthony King, also known as A-Wall, was the shooter.
Tiffany got a picture of Anthony and asked Adel, “Is this the man that killed my son?” And Adel replied, “Yes.
” Tiffany then relate the information to investigators.
The Neighborhood Compton Crips and the Atlantic Dr.ive Compton Crips were once close allies along with the Kelly Park Compton Crips and the South Side Compton Crips.
The four gangs have close ties through family and friends and spent decades fighting back-to-back against rival Piru and [ __ ] gangs.
In the early 2000s, the gangs had a falling out.
Many said it wasn’t just one incident that caused the feud, but multiple incidents over time that ultimately led to gunplay.
The gangs then split into two sides with Neighborhood and Kelly Park on one side and South Side and Atlantic Dr.ive on the other.
Different people from both sides tried to squash the issue and bring the gangs back together, but their efforts didn’t work and the gangs went to war.
In April of 2007, an 18-year-old man named Jamal Malone and his brother Matthew went to a party.
They were both from Neighborhood.
While at the party, they encountered members of South Side and a fight broke out.
The South Side members told Jamal and Matthew to meet them at South Park so they could fight again.
Later that night, there were about 50 people at South Park when Jamal and Matthew arrived with around 30 people.
The groups then set up multiple one-on-one fights.
Jamal lost his fight and Matthew knocked out a South Side member named Albert Beckley, also known as Bluebird.
A few weeks later, on May 14th at around 8:00 pm, Jamal, Matthew, and a few others were hanging out on Pauline Street in Neighborhood territory.
A few minutes later, a silver car came driving down the street and Albert leaned out the window with a gun and opened fire.
A woman was grazed on the forehead and shot in the foot.
Jamal was shot in the chest and died at the scene.
Investigators later arrested Albert and the driver, another Southside member named Daryl Fenn, also known as Lil Freaky, and charged them with Jamal’s murder and two counts of attempted murder.
Albert and Daryl were each sentenced to 50 years to life in prison.
On February 7th, 2009, Anthony pulled a gun on a member of Kelly Park named Will and threatened him.
Will told another Kelly Park member named William about the incident and they started looking for Anthony.
They drove to a nearby liquor store called Jack Rabbit and spotted a 21-year-old Atlantic Dr.ive member named James Hampton, also known as Tiny C, sitting in his car in the parking lot.
Will got out his car with an AK-47, ran over to James’s car, and shot him to death.
William pled guilty to voluntary manslaughter and received 13 years in prison.
Will was found guilty of murder and sentenced to 55 years to life in prison.
In the years following the fallout, Neighborhood built an alliance with Southside’s worst enemy, the Santana Block Compton Crips.
In 2013, a member of Santana Block nicknamed the Mole released a song titled “I’m From Compton”.
The song featured rappers from Anzac Grape Compton [ __ ] and Neighborhood.
In the song, they dissed Southside and other rival gangs.
Andrew can be spotted in the music video throwing up neighborhood gang signs and dissing Southside.
On May 5th, 2014, two Southside members, 18-year-old Omar Williams and 20-year-old Jason Peña, were driving down the street.
Moments later, an SUV pulled up next to them and someone inside the truck aimed a gun out the window and opened fire.
Omar and Jason were each hit multiple times and their car lost control and crashed into other cars.
Omar was pronounced dead at the scene and Jason later died at the hospital.
Investigators believe that members of Neighborhood and Santana Block are responsible.
The war between the former allies has resulted in multiple murders and dozens of shootings.
A few weeks after Andrew’s murder, detectives brought Adele in for an interview.
He told them that he didn’t want to be involved and said that he didn’t see anything.
Detectives continued to press him and showed them a photographic lineup.
He laughed at photo number three, which was Anthony’s photo, and after seeing all six photos, he told detectives, “Break off numbers five and six and y’all do the rest, man.
” Detectives tracked down Cornell and brought him in for an interview.
Initially, he denied knowing anything about the shooting and said he wasn’t in the area at the time.
But after investigators told him that witnesses placed him at the scene and they also had video showing him get into the Avenger and drive the shooter away from the scene, he changed his story.
Cornell said on the day of the shooting, he was standing in front of his grandmother’s house when Andrew and Adele approached him and asked him about his gang affiliation.
He told them he was from Nutty Block and they said they were from Neighborhood.
The gangs didn’t have any issues, so Andrew and Adele continued walking.
He said he then got into the Avenger and drove down the street.
When investigators asked him about the man that got into his car, he said his name is Anthony King.
He said his grandmother lived a house away from Anthony’s in-laws and he saw him all the time.
Cornell said he was sitting in the Avenger listening to music and scrolling through his phone when Anthony ran to the car and asked him for a ride to the grocery store.
Cornell said okay and dropped Anthony off at a store a few blocks away.
He said he didn’t know about the shooting until later that day.
Three days later, Anthony was arrested and charged with Andrew’s murder.
Detectives then interviewed him about the shooting.
Anthony denied knowing anything about it and said he was nowhere near the area at the time.
Investigators obtained a search warrant for his cell phone and found that he was near the scene at the time of the shooting.
While in jail, Anthony called his wife, Sandy.
She told him that investigators only found one of his cell phones and that she has the others.
Four days later, investigators brought Sandy in for an interview and asked her about the phones.
She told them that she dumped them into a fire pit.
A few days later, Anthony called Sandy again.
He said he didn’t know why he kept his phone and that he should have thrown it into the ocean that day and if he had done so, there wouldn’t be anything to worry about.
Ultimately, Anthony was found guilty of murder for the death of Andrew Bender III as well as gun charges.
On October 16th, 2018, Anthony King was sentenced to 80 years to life in prison.
Neighborhood and Kelly Park continue to have a close relationship but over the years, even their alliance has been put to the test.
On December 5th, 2021, Andrew’s father, Andrew Bender II, drove to a man named Marlon’s house to get some work done on his car.
A man named Michael lived in a trailer behind Marlon’s house and was known as the neighborhood mechanic.
The home was located in the heart of Kelly Park territory, and it was a well-known hangout for the gang.
At around 12:00 pm, Andrew and Michael were headed to an auto parts store when a 49-year-old Kelly Park member named Lawrence Stackhouse approached Andrew in the driveway and said, “I heard you killed my father.
” Andrew replied, “I didn’t kill your father, but I was in the car with the man that did, but that’s past me now.
I’m moving forward.
I don’t want to talk about that no more.
” Andrew and Michael then got into Andrew’s SUV and made their way to the auto parts store.
While driving, Andrew reached into the center console and pulled out a gun.
Michael asked, “What’s wrong?” and Andrew replied, “Nothing.
” and put the gun on the side of the seat.
A few minutes later, they made it back to the house and noticed Lawrence’s Dodge Charger parked in the driveway.
Michael didn’t know Lawrence personally, but had seen him around and knew that he was a well-respected member of Kelly Park.
As they got closer to the house, they noticed several Kelly Park members standing outside.
Andrew and Michael got out the SUV and walked to the backyard to continue working on the car.
Michael noticed Lawrence was talking to a woman named Sherika in the driveway.
A few minutes later, Andrew left the backyard, went to his SUV, and got his gun.
He held it down at his side and mad-dogged Lawrence and Sherika as he walked to the backyard.
Michael went into the house and told Marlon there was a problem outside.
When Michael went back outside, Sherika told him that Andrew was tripping.
Lawrence was angry.
He pulled a gun from his waistband and laid it on the hood of his car.
Michael tried to calm him down, but it didn’t work.
Lawrence grabbed his gun, got into his car, and sped away.
Michael then went to the backyard, and he and Andrew continued working on the car.
Michael told Andrew to watch his back.
At around 8:00 am the next morning, Andrew went to Marlon’s house and woke up Michael so they could finish working on the car.
As Michael worked, Andrew sat on the pile of bricks.
Police were active in the area at the time, so he put his gun in a nearby plastic tub and covered it with some clothes.
At around 8:30, Michael heard Lawrence’s Charger and looked down the street.
The car drove past the house and made a U-turn.
It then stopped in front of the driveway.
Lawrence got out of the Charger with a gun in his hand and started walking towards Andrew.
Andrew started running and Lawrence opened fire, hitting him in the back.
Andrew turned around and put his hands up.
Lawrence continued walking towards him and shot him three more times in the stomach and chest.
Andrew fell to the ground and Lawrence walked back to his car.
Michael yelled, “What the [ __ ] are you doing, man?” And Lawrence replied, “You all right.
” He then got into his car and fled the scene.
Marlon’s son, Marlo, heard the gunshots and ran outside.
Andrew told him to get his gun and shoot him.
Marlo ran to the plastic tub and got Andrew’s gun.
He ran to the middle of the street and aimed at Lawrence’s car as he sped away, but Michael grabbed him and told him not to shoot.
Michael called 911 and a few minutes later, police and paramedics arrived at the scene.
They transported Andrew to the hospital where he died during emergency surgery.
Doctors found that three of the four gunshot wounds he sustained were fatal.
Three months after the shooting, detectives brought Michael in for an interview.
Initially, he was hesitant to tell them what he saw out of fear of retaliation, but ultimately, he decided to tell them what happened and said he saw Lawrence shoot Andrew.
Detectives then showed him a photographic lineup containing Lawrence’s picture.
Michael identified Lawrence as the shooter.
In August of 2022, Lawrence was arrested and charged with Andrew’s murder.
Detectives then interviewed him about the shooting.
Lawrence told them that he didn’t know anything about it and said he was nowhere near Marlon’s house on the day of the shooting.
Investigators searched the car he was driving and found a 9-mm handgun.
During a search of his home, they found a bulletproof vest and a 9-mm handgun wrapped inside of a ski mask, as well as two magazines.
Investigators found the Charger parked in his garage and impounded it.
They took information from the Charger’s GPS and it showed that the car was near the crime scene on the day of the shooting.
Investigators obtained a search warrant for Lawrence’s cell phone.
They found that his phone pinged on two cell phone towers near the crime scene on the day before the shooting and on the day of the shooting.
Ultimately, Lawrence was found guilty of murder for the death of Andrew Bender II, as well as gun charges.
On February 8th, 2023, Lawrence Stackhouse was sentenced to 29 years to life in prison.
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