Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
As Casefile continues into its tenth year, we're currently taking a very short break from new episodes. Brand new cases will be returning on May 23 for Premium subscribers and May 30 for the regular feed.
But in the meantime, we're continuing our special bonus series, Casefile Archives, a collection of releases revisiting the earliest years of the show along with previously unreleased Premium episodes. Rest assured that these are additional bonus releases and will not replace our standard schedule. We will still be delivering the same number of new episodes this year as we did last year.
Casefile Archives is simply a way to mark the tenth year, revisit some older episodes, and share stories that newer listeners may not have heard before. For the re-release episodes, we fully edited, polished, re-recorded, and freshly produced them from start to finish to match our current production standards. They are not complete rewrites.
Our aim isn't to reshape the cases or alter the original storytelling, but to preserve them as they were first told while bringing them up to the level of production the show has today. Where appropriate, updates have been added, but the core structure remains faithful to the originals. Because of this, these episodes may sound a little different to our recent work.
Today's re-release is the North Hollywood Shootout, originally aired as Case 18 on May 8, 2016. I still remember sitting on the floor of my childhood lounge room glued to the TV as footage of this shootout played on the evening news.
Even in the days before the 24-hour news cycle, social media, and the kind of instant global coverage we see today, it was major news here on the other side of the world, and those images are still burned into my mind nearly 30 years later. Now, here is Case 18 from Casefile Archives, The North Hollywood Shootout. Our episodes deal with serious and often distressing incidents.
If you feel at any time you need support, please contact your local crisis centre. For suggested phone numbers for confidential support and for a more detailed list of content warnings, please see the show notes for this episode on your app or on our website.
Casefile would like to acknowledge NorthHollywoodShootout.net, a website dedicated exclusively to this case, which offers the most comprehensive and factual account you will find online. This episode could not have been created without the use of that resource.
If you would like to know more, check out NorthHollywoodShootout.net for images, timelines, original newspaper articles, detailed analyses and much more. February 28, 1997 was a regular Friday for Los Angeles police officers Lauren Farrell and Martin Pirello as they made their way down Laurel Canyon Boulevard in North Hollywood.
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Chapter 2: What was the background of the North Hollywood Shootout?
Larry was the manipulator while Emil was more the follower. He did whatever Larry wanted. On July 20 1993, the pair successfully committed their first robbery, ambushing an armoured car outside a branch of First Bank in Littleton, Colorado. The police were unable to identify any suspects and the pair got away with it.
Three months later, on October 29 1993, Larry and Emile were driving through Glendale, California when they were pulled over by Sergeant Ian Grimes. Larry was driving and Emil was in the front passenger seat. When questioned, Larry said he had left his license at home and he gave a false name. Sergeant Grimes then asked whose car it was, to which Emil replied it was Larry's mother's car.
Sergeant Grimes had already done a check and he knew the car was actually an airport rental. He asked Larry to step out of the vehicle and then patted him down, finding a Glock pistol with an extended 33-round magazine. A loud thud then came from inside the car. It was the sound of a meal dropping his own pistol underneath the passenger seat.
Sergeant Grimes called for assistance and covered Larry and Emile until backup arrived. A subsequent search of the car uncovered a semi-automatic rifle and a Springfield pistol belonging to Larry as well as a semi-automatic rifle and a Colt pistol belonging to Emile.
Police also found 1649 rounds of 39mm ammo, 967 rounds of 9mm ammo, 357 rounds of 45 ammo, 6 smoke bombs, 2 improvised explosive devices, one gas mask, two sets of body armour, two police scanners, sunglasses, gloves, wigs, ski masks and a stopwatch, two spray cans of hair colour, three different sets of Californian licence plates and $1,620 in cash.
The police were convinced they had just stopped a bank robbery from happening. And given what was to come, they were quite obviously right. Larry Phillips Jr and Emil Matasoranu were taken to the Glendale Police Station where they were both charged with conspiracy to commit robbery and unlawful weapons activity.
Larry was also charged with grand theft auto, carrying a loaded concealed firearm, and felony perjury, while Emil was charged with carrying a loaded firearm in a vehicle. At their preliminary hearing, the grand theft auto and the perjury charges against Larry were dropped, but the two men still faced eight years jail on the remaining charges.
The problem was, neither Larry nor Emil said a word, and the police had no other information to go on. Despite the arsenal and disguises they were found with, it was difficult to prove they were going to commit a robbery. At their arraignment, Larry and Emil claimed the disguises were for an upcoming Halloween party. As for the weapons and ammo, they said they were headed to a shooting range.
In exchange for early guilty pleas, the district attorney dropped the conspiracy to commit robbery charges and allowed Larry and Emile to plead to much lesser offences. On December 27 1993, Larry was sentenced to 99 days in jail while Emile was sentenced to 71 days and both were given three years probation. Both men were released immediately due to time already served.
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Chapter 3: How did Larry Phillips Jr. and Emil Mătăsăreanu prepare for the bank robbery?
A customer was using one of the ATMs when he felt somebody approach him from behind. Turning around, he got quite the shock when he saw Larry and Emil. Larry ordered, Okay motherfucker, let's go. Not about to argue, the customer did as he was told and walked into the bank with the two men. Upon their entrance, Emil started firing his rifle into the roof, yelling, Everyone down.
This is a fucking hold up, Larry declared. Everyone down, motherfuckers. There were about 30 customers in the bank at the time, including five of whom were in the safety deposit box room. Everybody complied, although one of the tellers was able to hit the hold-up alarm before diving to the floor.
The suspects are inside of the bank. It's a tool of an in-progress inside the Bank of America. Law correction, law...
Like in the previous bank robberies, Emil approached the teller door and shot his way through it. The door was bullet resistant and designed to stop any pistol round, but it was no match for Emil's high-powered automatic assault rifle. Once he got through the door, Emil yelled, Get the money or we will kill you. Joe Villagrana, the branch's assistant manager, got up and made himself known.
Emil aimed the rifle at him and told him to open the vault. As they made their way there, Emil struck Joe in the back of the head with the rifle. When they passed the safety deposit box room, Emil shot more rounds into the roof and screamed at the people inside to get out. Larry remained in the lobby, keeping control of the customers and other employees.
Meanwhile, Officer Farrell kept the radio transmissions coming, telling the other police where he wanted everyone set up.
A3, I want one unit on the north side, I want a unit on the south side, and I want a unit on the back, if possible.
15839 is responding code 3 to Lower Canyon North of Pitch Ridge, 1583 wants a unit on the north side, on the south side and on the rear.
Stay free. We won't. Come on to position themselves safely to lock the front door.
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Chapter 4: What occurred during the initial moments of the North Hollywood Shootout?
Three civilian witnesses were still there and immediately dove for cover. Officer Whitfield was behind his patrol car next to Haynes. Larry took aim and unleashed on him as well. The bullets ripped through the car with ease, wounding Whitfield in the process.
Couch now, 10-4, has been notified. Everybody stay down, rapid automatic fire, the pad in the area was fired. Everybody out, this is Officer Dutton, just fired. All the automatic weapons for fire. All units 9L United visors large shot fired, 500 block of Lower Canyon. All units officers requesting help, Lower Canyon North of Kittredge at the Bank of America, shots are being fired.
All units, officer requested help at the bank. All units, officer requested help at the bank. All units, officer requested help at the bank.
All units, officer requested help at the bank.
As Larry was firing north, he effectively had his back turned to other officers who were positioned to the southwest, taking cover behind a locksmith's kiosk. Officer Zborovan was among them, and he saw an opportunity. Zborovan stepped out and fired two shots from his pump-action shotgun. Some of the pellets struck Larry in the back.
One even found a gap in his body armour and struck him directly. The hit caused Larry to stumble, but he didn't fall. He turned around to face Sir Borovan, who had resumed his position behind the cover of the locksmith kiosk. Larry opened fire on the kiosk, shooting over 100 rounds into the building. The cover was flimsy and bullets penetrated the walls easily and ricocheted all over the place.
The officers hit the ground. Officers Zaborovan and Geyer had body armour on, but Detectives Krulak and Angelus did not. Realising this, Zaborovan placed his body over the top of Detective Angelus. A few seconds later, he was struck twice and started bleeding heavily.
We need help out here with the officers down. Yes. You're going to get an attack alert here. Any unit know how many officers are down? We have one. More than one. More than one. There's more than one officer down. A lot of things going by the airlift. Looking on, Andy. We need an attack alert. Looking on, Andy. Roger. Good morning. Got an attack alert going. I've been hit.
After unloading on the locksmith chaos, Larry turned back to the north, towards officers Whitfield and Haynes and the three civilian witnesses.
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