North Hollywood shootout

Perpetrator

Larry Phillips Jr (b. 1970) and Emil Matasareanu (b. 1966) first met in 1989 at Gold's Gym in Venice, a Los Angeles neighborhood. They shared an interest in weightlifting and bodybuilding, but soon developed a common interest in making money through crime.

Philips came from Los Angeles. His parents had run afoul of the law several times; by 1989 at the latest, he himself had also become a criminal when he stole $400 worth of items from a store and was convicted. He later imported steel-core ammunition for his illegally modified assault rifles, and acquired aramid fabric to make protective vests.

Emil Matasareanu (Romanian Mătăsăreanu) came from a family of Romanian immigrants from Timișoara. He had fled Romania to the United States with his parents as a child to escape the Ceaușescu regime, and later earned a degree in electrical engineering in the United States. He tried to start his own business, but soon ran into financial difficulties. In 1990, he married and shortly thereafter became the father of a son. He had been in poor health since a head injury in 1994. His wife left him with their children six months before the events in North Hollywood. Matasareanu was depressed and expressed a desire to die to his parents on several occasions. Larry Phillips was later described as the driving force in the attack.

Criminal history

In 1993, the duo put their plan to commit a robbery into action. On July 20, 1993, they robbed an armored car outside a bank in Littleton, Colorado, and escaped without being detected.

In October 1993, Phillips and Matasareanu were arrested for a speeding violation in Glendale, northwest of Los Angeles. The vehicle was subsequently searched as Phillips was arrested with a concealed weapon. Two semi-automatic rifles, two handguns, over 1600 rounds of 7.62mm rifle ammunition, more than 1200 rounds of 9mm and .45 ACP pistol ammunition, radio scanners, smoke bombs, improvised explosive devices, body armor, and three different California motor vehicle license plates were found. Although they were originally charged with conspiracy to commit robbery, none of them served more than 100 days in prison, but they were given three years probation. After their release, most of the confiscated property was returned to them, except for the confiscated weapons. No connection to the Littleton robbery was made.

In June 1995, the duo robbed a Brink's armored car, killing a security guard. In May 1996, they robbed two Bank of America branches in the San Fernando Valley near Los Angeles, taking about $1.5 million. Both times they escaped undetected.

Phillips and Matasareanu always used extremely heavy weaponry during the robberies, which is why they were nicknamed High Incident Bandits by the police.

The robbery occurred on the morning of February 28, 1997, and was preceded by months of scouting the target - the Bank of America branch at the intersection of Laurel Canyon Boulevard and Archwood Street. Phillips and Matasareanu had at their disposal five illegally modified fully automatic rifles: three 7.62 x 39mm Type 56 assault rifles (an AK-47 copy), a modified HK91 and a .223-caliber Bushmaster rifle (Model XM15-ES2), an AR-15 clone. They also possessed two 9mm Beretta 92F pistols, a .38-caliber revolver, and some 3300 rounds of ammunition in rod and drum magazines.

They used a white Chevrolet Celebrity to travel from their home to the bank and arrived at the branch at 09:17. They were masked and wore their homemade torso armor including metal trauma plates as shock absorbers to protect vital organs. Before entering the bank, they took phenobarbital to calm them down. They set the timers on their watches for 8 minutes, the estimated police response time. Phillips had determined this time from the police radio using a radio scanner. However, they were spotted entering the bank by an LAPD patrol car driving along Laurel Canyon; the officers in the car reported a possible armed robbery.

Inside the bank, Phillips and Matasareanu forced the assistant manager to open the safe. They fired at least 100 rounds to intimidate the 30 or so bank employees and customers present and to forestall possible resistance. This was heard by police officers waiting outside, who called for more backup and surrounded the building. The two robbers only captured $303,305 instead of the expected $750,000 because the bank had changed the delivery schedule for the money. They also took much more time in the bank than they had planned. At 09:32 Phillips briefly left the building, noticed the police officers who had already arrived there, and retreated. Inside, the two apparently decided to force their way out.

At 09:38, Phillips exited the bank through the north entrance and Matasareanu through the south entrance. Both faced dozens of LAPD police officers who had arrived for backup. They immediately began firing at the officers. Helicopters from news stations arrived minutes later on the same radio message and reported, though the robbers fired on them as well. SWAT commanders used the live broadcasts from the helicopters to relay important timely information to officers on the scene.

Phillips and Matasareanu fired armor-piercing rounds at the patrol vehicles that had been parked on Laurel Canyon Boulevard in front of the bank. The patrolmen possessed only light armament, standard Beretta 92 9mm pistols and .38 caliber revolvers, and some were also equipped with fore-end repeating rifles. The body armor worn by Phillips and Matasareanu was strong enough to withstand these. The two offenders engaged in a 7 to 8 minute firefight with police until Matasareanu managed to reach the getaway vehicle. Phillips remained outside the vehicle. He used the vehicle as cover to continue firing at police and did not get in even when his accomplice repeatedly told him to do so. A TAC (tactical alert) was issued and a SWAT team equipped with automatic weapons arrived 18 minutes after the shooting began. A special protection vehicle helped officers recover the injured.

At 09:51, Phillips separated from Matasareanu and marched east on Archwood Street, continuing to fire at police from his AKMS assault rifle. He had just reloaded it with a 100-round drum magazine when he was hit in the left thumb. This may have prevented him from removing a cartridge case that had caused a jam. He put down the assault rifle, drew a Beretta pistol and continued to fire at police with his uninjured right hand. He was then also struck in the right hand and dropped the pistol. He then picked it up again and shot himself under the chin; at the same time he was hit in the spine by a police officer.

Matasareanu's vehicle was nearly inoperable because the tires had been shot out. At 09:56, he hijacked a passing pickup truck on Archwood Street, three blocks east of where Phillips had been shot. He moved all of his weapons and ammunition from the getaway car into the new vehicle. However, he was unable to start the car because the owner had shut off the fuel pump before leaving the vehicle. As helicopters from KCBS and KCAL hovered over the vehicle, a patrol car with SWAT officers arrived. Matasareanu exited the pickup truck, took cover behind the original getaway vehicle and immediately charged. He engaged in a brief intense firefight with police, firing shots for two and a half minutes without pause. At least one SWAT police officer aimed his M16 assault rifle under the car, wounding Matasareanu in his unprotected lower legs. After being hit more than 20 times in the legs, he surrendered badly injured. Police called an ambulance, but Matasareanu bled to death before help was rendered.

Most of the incidents, including Phillips' death and Matasareanu's arrest, were broadcast live from news helicopters and televised. More than 300 law enforcement personnel were gathered due to the citywide tactical alert. By the end of the shootout, Phillips and Matasareanu had fired over 1300 rounds (1100 rounds according to other accounts). Phillips was hit 11 times, including the self-inflicted head shot. Matasareanu was hit 29 times; despite his wounds, he survived another 40 minutes before dying. The coroner's report cited circulatory arrest from shock as a contributing factor in the death.