WHEN AN OFF-DUTY police dog handler witnessed an armed robbery taking place on a Group 4 delivery van in Station Square, Petts Wood, on 15 August 1984, he released his dog, named Yerba, to tackle one of the robbers. The man fired and killed the dog with three shots from a .38 revolver; Yerba’s bravery is recorded on a plaque placed on the wall of a nearby building. Flying Squad officers established an incident room in a local police station and soon came to suspect a career armed robber, Anthony Philip Baldessare, of the crime. The 46 year old had three convictions for armed robbery and had a record of taking part in incidents where robbers had shot at police officers.
1984
Wooden eagle found at home of armed robber Baldessare
A nationwide hunt for Britain’s ‘most wanted’ criminal took place, which culminated in police officers surrounding a flat in Gleneldon Road, Streatham, on 24 January 1985. Because of Baldessare’s access to guns and his ruthless nature, the police conducted a protracted siege negotiation to persuade him to surrender. Baldessare told the negotiators that he could not face the prospect of another spell of imprisonment. When a shot was heard inside the flat, the police did not know whether it was a trap being laid to lure them into the premises or not. Firearms officers from D11 Branch (later SO19) forced an entry through a wall of the flat, rather than the door or a window, and found that Baldessare had in fact shot himself dead, using the same firearm that he had used to kill Yerba. A search of the flat revealed a pump-action shotgun, a large quantity of money that had been partly burnt and, on top of a bedroom wardrobe, a wooden eagle that Baldessare had acquired as a reminder of his dealings with the Flying Squad.
The Flying Squad, established in 1919 to combat mobile criminals, have specialised in the pursuit of the dangerous and violent armed robbers who have plagued London and other places with their ruthless pursuit of money regardless of the cost to victims’ lives. The Flying Squad adopted the eagle as their logo.