{"id":119850,"date":"2020-02-29T22:55:40","date_gmt":"2020-03-01T03:55:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gunsamerica.com\/digest\/?p=119850"},"modified":"2020-02-29T22:55:40","modified_gmt":"2023-09-06T08:25:28","slug":"guns-of-the-north-hollywood-shootout-life-imitates-art","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/guns-of-the-north-hollywood-shootout-life-imitates-art\/","title":{"rendered":"Guns of the North Hollywood Shootout: Life Imitates Art"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Guns
The \u201cHigh Incident Bandits\u201d used serious iron like this Norinco Type 56 folding stock Kalashnikov to rob the Bank of America in North Hollywood in 1997. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Larry Phillips and Decebal Matasareanu\nmet while working out at Gold\u2019s Gym in Venice, Los Angeles, California.\nThey had a mutual interest in both bodybuilding and firearms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Guns
Cute kid, bad genes. Larry Phillips, shown here alongside his dad in happier times, was a born criminal. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Phillips was a native-born American whose\nentire life had been characterized by crime. Up until they hit the big time he\nmade ends meet via real estate scams and shoplifting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Guns
Decebal Matasareanu was a well-educated Romanian immigrant. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Matasareanu, by contrast, hailed from\nRomania and was trained as an Electrical Engineer. However, his computer repair\nbusiness just scraped by. Both men aspired to something more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Guns
These two guys cut their teeth on armored cars. This scene from the Michael Mann movie Heat<\/em> likely inspired them. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Their first known joint criminal\nenterprise was the 1993 robbery of an armored car in Littleton, Colorado.\nUnlike most conventional thieves, however, Phillips and Matasareanu rolled hot\nwith AK rifles and improvised explosive devices. After a fortuitous traffic\nstop wherein the criminals were found to be in possession of two Kalashnikovs,\ntwo handguns, and a total of 2,800 rounds of ammunition the two felons served\n100 days in jail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Guns
If somebody gave me a million and a half dollars I\u2019d hang up my stethoscope and start working on my suntan. These guys, however, weren\u2019t quite satisfied. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

These two guys left prison somewhat less than fully rehabilitated. In 1995 they robbed a Brinks armored car in LA, killing a guard named Herman Cook. Two LA-area banks later, these two gentlemen were $1.5 million richer. As is so often the case, however, they had a really tough time figuring out when to stop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Going to War<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\"Guns
This typical American bank branch became a full-bore battlefield for 44 minutes in 1997. Note the PT gear worn by the SWAT guys. You\u2019ll find out about that later. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Phillips and Matasareanu spent months\nreconnoitering the Bank of America branch on Laurel Canyon Boulevard in LA. They\npredicted when the bank should get its fresh cash shipment and schemed\naccordingly. They also studied their police scanner and estimated the Law\nEnforcement response time at eight minutes. Then on February 28, 1997, they\ngirded up for battle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Guns
Each robber crafted his own body armor from commercially available products. This is one set recovered from the crime scene. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

They each wore body armor bodged together\nfrom commercial Aramid components covering their chests, groins, shins, thighs,\nand forearms. Matasareanu included a steel strike plate in his ensemble to\nprotect his vital organs. They had each sewed watches into the backs of their\ngloves and took phenobarbital to calm their nerves. Their estimated police\nresponse time turned out to be catastrophically optimistic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Guns<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\"Guns
This is a decent facsimile of one of the Chicom Norinco rifles wielded by these lunatics. The foregrip on the actual crime gun was angled backward, however. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Phillips and Matasareanu were serious gun nerds, and they had done their pre-mission prep thoroughly. Between the two of them, they wielded five long guns and a pair of pistols. Different accounts vary slightly in the details. However, as near as I could ascertain their two Norinco Type 56 S rifles were fitted with side-folding East German MPi KmS stocks. One of these guns included a vertical foregrip.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Guns
Chinese drums load from the rear like those for a Thompson submachine gun. The key on the back is used to wind up the mechanism once it is fully charged. By contrast, Soviet and Romania drums are sealed and load one round at a time from the top. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

They had one Norinco Type 56 S-1 underfolder that had been illegally converted to full auto along with several Chinese-made 75 and 100-round drums. It is impossible to deploy an underfolding AK stock with a drum in place, but Larry Phillips still ran this weapon efficiently on full auto even with the stock folded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Guns
Before the importation of military-style weapons from China was banned by Bill Clinton in 1994, quality rifles like this Norinco Type 56 S-1 were both inexpensive and plentiful. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Norinco makes superlative firearms. I\nhave a Norinco underfolder AK I bought from a stack at a gun show back in 1985\nfor $325. The gun is beautifully executed with rich bluing, three magazines,\nand a bayonet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Guns
This freaky hybrid is a tricked-out Bushmaster XM15 Dissipator. The example carried by the North Hollywood robbers had been illegally converted to full auto. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The loadout included a Bushmaster XM15 Dissipator. The Dissipator featured standard M16A1 triangular handguards, a stubby16-inch barrel, and a collapsible stock along with a 100-round Beta C-mag. The Dissipator looks a little weird but illegally converted to full auto it was a formidable close combat tool. They also wielded a German HK91A3 with extended 30-round mags. These magazines were formed by welding two 20-round magazine bodies together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Guns
The HK91A3 offered serious downrange horsepower. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Their 7.62x51mm HK91A3 was both powerful and reliable. It provided superior reach and penetration adequate to negate the effectiveness of a great deal of urban cover such as automobile components and modest trees. With more than a thousand rounds of ammunition on tap, these two maniacs strode calmly into the bank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nRobbery<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\"Guns
They weren\u2019t exactly discrete. A pair of passing cops made the bandits immediately. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As they entered the bank looking like PLO Black September terrorists, a pair of nearby LAPD officers named Martin Perello and Loren Farrell fortuitously spotted them from their patrol car. The resulting radio call doomed the operation from the start.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Guns
Like the Dillinger gang before them, these two criminals announced their intentions via bursts of full-auto fire into the ceiling. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Both men loosed bursts into the ceiling to discourage resistance. Phillips then shot his way through a supposedly bulletproof door to reach the tellers and the vault. This door was intended to withstand handgun rounds but didn\u2019t fare so well against a full auto AK.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Guns
The money they left with was rendered useless by the bank\u2019s security system. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The men had expected around $750,000 but found the take to be markedly more meager. An infuriated Phillips loosed a full 75-round drum of 7.62x39mm into the bank vault, destroying much of the remaining cash. Now with $303,305 and three dye packs in their possession the two men egressed the building. The dye packs later exploded, ruining what money they did get. They had been in the bank for about seven minutes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nShootout<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\"Guns
It was the two men\u2019s willingness to just hose down the countryside with their assault rifles (the real deal as they had been illegally converted to full auto) that made the crime so viscerally shocking. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

While Phillips and Matasareanu were working over the bank more and more LAPD units were staging outside thanks to the serendipitous report of the two passing cops. By the time they emerged the bank was surrounded and all corners were covered. The two men left the building by two separate entrances. Phillips spotted a police cruiser some 200 feet away and unlimbered his full-auto AK coldly and without hesitation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Guns
Behold the modern California AR. This thing looks like a gun and a toilet had a baby. I don\u2019t see how anybody can live in that place. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

For the next several minutes Phillips\nengaged the surrounding officers with controlled bursts of automatic fire,\nwounding seven LAPD patrolmen as well as three civilian bystanders. By now Phillips and Matasareanu were side by side, blasting\nat the cops and absorbing return fire from the police officers\u2019 9mm pistols and\n.38 revolvers. Lyrically outgunned, the cops sprinted into a nearby civilian gun\nshop and appropriated five AR15 rifles. Given California\u2019s legendary gun\nlaws were this to happen today the cops would obviously be hamstrung with\nbullet buttons and thumbhole stocks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Guns
This is a photo of the disabled HK rifle used in the robbery. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The two robbers also fired upon both LAPD and news helicopters. Officers tried and failed to secure headshots, but they did eventually connect with Phillips\u2019 hand. The cops\u2019 pistol rounds also struck the magazine and receiver of the HK91, rendering it inoperable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Guns
The LAPD fought back valiantly against these two killers. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Eighteen minutes after the first shot\nfired LAPD SWAT arrived in body armor, shorts, and athletic shoes. They had\nbeen in the middle of a run when the call came out, but they acted decisively,\ncommandeering an armored truck and removing the injured to safety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The End Game<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\"Guns
The crime scene was absolutely littered with discarded weapons and shell casings. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Guns<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Matasareanu started their getaway car while Phillips jogged alongside, all the while firing at cops as targets presented themselves. Once his HK 91 was disabled Phillips retrieved one of the other long guns and ran it until it jammed. Unable to clear the weapon given his injured hand, he drew his Beretta 92FS but had it shot out of his grip. Retrieving the weapon with his left hand he placed it underneath his chin and pulled the trigger. A police handgun round simultaneously struck him behind his armor and severed his spine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Guns
Once their getaway car was disabled Matasareanu tried and failed to steal another. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Matasareanu fared briefly better. His\nwindshield and tires shot out, Matasareanu carjacked a 1963 Jeep Gladiator and\ntransferred his weapons into the new ride. However, unknown to him the truck\nhad a separate kill switch, and he was unable to get it moving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Guns
This is a shot of Matasareanu after he was finally subdued. His family actually sued the LAPD for not being more expeditious in getting this machinegun-wielding maniac to proper medical care. The suit ended in a mistrial and a hung jury. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

For another 2.5 minutes, Matasareanu engaged in a near-constant firefight with LAPD SWAT officers. He caught a double tap to the chest that stunned him momentarily but stopped on his armor. The SWAT cops with AR15\u2019s then dropped down low and shot Matasareanu in the unprotected lower legs underneath his vehicle, finally taking him out of the fight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Guns
Matasareanu used his getaway car as cover for the final exchange, seeing it shot literally to pieces by fire both outgoing and incoming. Video of the live exchange can be found online. The Jeep Gladiator he tried to steal is shown on the right. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Matasareanu was hit twenty times below\nthe waist and occupied himself after he was subdued by telling the cops to kill\nhim. It took some seventy minutes for EMT personnel to arrive as the fog of war\nsparked rumors of a third shooter. Matasareanu bled out from his leg wounds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ruminations<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\"Guns
Heat<\/em> is arguably the best gun-guy movie ever made. If you feel otherwise please make your case in the comment section below. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The superlative Michael Mann movie Heat<\/em>\ndebuted two years before the North Hollywood shootout. It has long been assumed\nthat this gritty crime film about a well-armed paramilitary robbery crew\ninspired Matasareanu and Phillips. The final epic shootout scene in HEAT<\/em>\nis rightfully hailed as one of the most compelling ever put on film, replete\nwith masterful gun handling, proper magazine changes, and a reverberating\nsoundtrack that puts you inside the fight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Guns
The opening sequence in the movie SWAT<\/em> was obviously a recreation of the North Hollywood shootout. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The subsequent 2003 movie SWAT<\/em> did\na decent job of recreating the broad brush details of the North Hollywood robbery.\nWhile SWAT <\/em>is a decent watch with some nice iron and solid tactics, it\nis no HEAT. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Guns
Fun Fact\u2014The FN FNC-80 used by Al Pacino in Heat<\/em> was a selective-fire, military-grade gun that had had its barrel cut back by the movie armorer. Michael Mann insisted it be fired on semiauto as he rightfully felt that cops would not be willing to spray the cityscape indiscriminately as would criminals. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Pacino with his FNC-80, DeNiro and Kilmer\nwith their fire-breathing Colt Model 733\u2019s, and Sizemore\nrunning his Galil ARM set a standard for cinematic firepower yet to be\nbettered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Guns
Despite 20 injured cops and civilians, some severely, none of the good guys died during this harrowing exchange. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It was a legitimate miracle that none of the good guys died in the North Hollywood gunfight. When the smoke cleared the robbers had fired some 1,100 rounds, while the cops expended about 650. The aftermath of this shootout pushed American Law Enforcement to rethink long guns in squad cars and further militarize police tactical teams. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Guns
The sheer unbridled ferocity of the North Hollywood shootout changed the complexion of American Law Enforcement. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Seven months after the shootout the DOD gifted 600 selective-fire M16A1 rifles to the LAPD to equip each patrol sergeant. The political and cultural fallout from this gratuitous little war continues to this day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Guns
Most criminals are not the brightest bulbs in the lamp. However, the North Hollywood shootout showed the country what could happen when smart, determined, ruthless criminals fought like there was literally no tomorrow. Phillips is on the left. Matasareanu is on the right. These mug shots were taken after the pair was arrested for speeding four years before they died in a hail of gunfire. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Buy and Sell on GunsAmerica!<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Most criminals are not the brightest bulbs in the lamp. However, the North Hollywood shootout showed the country what could happen when smart, determined, ruthless criminals fought like there was literally no tomorrow. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":66,"featured_media":119863,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_specdata_upc":"","_specdata_placement":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[257,772],"tags":[132,102,752],"featured":[],"hunt365":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-119850","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-historical-guns","8":"category-will-dabbs","9":"tag-buzz","10":"tag-feature-articles","11":"tag-historical-guns"},"yoast_head":"\nGuns of the North Hollywood Shootout: Life Imitates Art<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Guns of the North Hollywood Shootout: Life Imitates Art - Will Dabbs\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/guns-of-the-north-hollywood-shootout-life-imitates-art\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Guns of the North Hollywood Shootout: Life Imitates Art\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Most criminals are not the brightest bulbs in the lamp. 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However, shooting guns and claiming it was work seemed like a pretty sweet hustle. As a result, Will serendipitously transformed an avocation into a vocation. Raised in the Mississippi Delta, Will flew UH1H, OH58A\\\/C, CH47D and AH1S helicopters operationally as an Army Aviator. He is SCUBA-qualified and has parachuted out of perfectly good airplanes at 3 o'clock in the morning. Will has summited Mount McKinley, Alaska, six times\u2026always at the controls of an Army helicopter, which is the only way sensible folk climb mountains. Will has delivered sixty babies and occasionally wrung human blood out of his socks. He is married to his high school sweetheart and has three awesome adult children. 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