About Me
Emil Dechebal Matasareanu (July 19, 1966 – February 28, 1997) is best known as one of two men who robbed a Bank of America in North Hollywood, California, on February 28, 1997. He was born in Romania and grew up in Altadena. Following the robbery, he and his accomplice, Larry Eugene Phillips, Jr., participated in a massive daylight shootout with police.As they were occupied with robbing the bank and keeping control of their hostages, a large number of police officers gathered outside, as a result of an officer's request for backup and his report of the suspects being armed with automatic AK-47 rifles.As the suspects were about to flee the scene, they encountered the police officers outside and opened fire, shooting wildly for several minutes. Later, Matasareanu drove the getaway car while Phillips walked alongside it and continued shooting at the police. After some time, they were separated. Phillips, surrounded by police, committed suicide with a Beretta 92F handgun after his AK-47 jammed. He was unable to clear the lodged bullet due to a gunshot wound to his hand.the SWAT team arrived and after a brief shootout, they wounded Matasareanu. Taking cover behind his getaway car, Matasareanu continued to fire until he had been shot in the feet and lower legs by SWAT officers firing from under their cruiser. Seemingly more angry than in pain, Matasareanu continiously swore at anybody nearby. He repeatedly shouted "shoot me in the head!". He later died of his wounds at the scene. He was hit 29 times.The Matasareanu family later filed a lawsuit against the Los Angeles Police Department for taking too long to provide him with medical attention, and also for reported brutality against Emil as he was handcuffed in the street. The city responded by saying that Matasareanu's constant taunts for police to "shoot me in the head" had caused police to worry that he may be suicidal. The first trial resulted in a hung jury, and the lawsuit was later dropped.Larry Phillips, Jr. and Emil Matasareanu first met at a public gym in the Los Angeles area in 1989.[3] They had a mutual interest in weightlifting and bodybuilding, but soon had a mutual interest in making money through crime.[3] Phillips imported steel-core ammunition for his illegally modified assault rifles, and acquired Aramid to make body armor.[4] In October 1993, Phillips and Matasareanu were arrested in Glendale, northwest of Los Angeles, California, for speeding.[5] A subsequent search of their vehicle—after Phillips surrendered with a concealed weapon—found two semi-automatic rifles, two handguns, over 1,600 rounds of 7.62 mm rifle ammunition, over 1,200 rounds of 9 mm and .45 caliber handgun ammunition, radio scanners, smoke bombs, improvised explosive devices, body armor vests, and three different California license plates.[6] Though they were initially charged with conspiracy to commit robbery,[7] neither of them served more than 100 days in jail, though they each were put on three years' probation.[8] After their release, most of their seized property was returned to them.[9]Phillips and Matasareanu were dubbed the "High Incident Bandits" by investigators due to the heavy weaponry they had used in three bank robberies prior to their attempt in North Hollywood.[10] Sometime in 1995, the pair ambushed a Brinks armored car and killed one guard in the robbery; in May 1996, they robbed two branches of Bank of America in San Fernando—they stole approximately $1.5 million.[11] On the morning of February 28, 1997, after months of preparation including extensive reconnoitering of their intended target—the Bank of America branch on Laurel Canyon Boulevard—Phillips and Matasareanu loaded three illegally modified fully automatic rifles; a Chinese AK-47 copy, a modified HK91 and a AR-15; two 9 mm Beretta 92F pistols and a .38 caliber revolver; and approximately 3,300 rounds of ammunition—in box and drum magazines—into a white sedan and made their way from their apartment to the bank.[12] They wore their homemade body armor, as well as metal trauma plates to protect vital organs, and they took phenobarbital to calm their nerves.[13
