44 minutes of terror in North Hollywood | Forensic Files

[Music] on the 28th in February 1997 Los Angeles police officers perello and Ferrell were
on routine patrol driving along Laurel Canyon Boulevard North Hollywood as they were driving past the Bank of America
they saw two large figures dressed in black clothing entering the bank both were wearing ski masks both had body
armor on and both were carrying large automatic assault rifles launching you know the pictures afternoon child Bank
of America Merrill Canyon or the kids which [Music] [Music] before we get to the bank we go back to
1967 Larry Phillips senior was just one year out of high school when he was sent
to jail for grave desecration a drunken prank where he tried to dig up a grave and remove the head of a corpse he was
paroled in January 1968 but his freedom only lasted three months he was sent back to jail for robbing a gas station
after just three months back in jail he was transferred to Colorado State Hospital which was a psychiatric
hospital the reason for the transferred air is unknown but after 10 months Larry
Phillips senior had enough and he escaped the date was the 18th of April 1969 a warrant was immediately issued
for his arrest once he escaped Larry's senior picked up his girlfriend Dorothy clay very little is known about
Dorothy but there are reports she herself had a criminal history with previous jail time both Larry senior and
Dorothy used many different aliases to avoid detection while slower on the run not much is known about them for the
next few years but at some point now made their way to California and it was at the California Hospital in Los
Angeles on the 20th of September 1970 that Larry Phillips jr. was born except the name that appeared on his birth
certificate was the Larry Eugene waffle it wouldn't be known as Larry Phillips jr. until 17 years later his parents
were listed on his birth certificate as Barbara Allen and Daniel waffle their occupations and addresses were also fake
Larry Phillips senior was still on the run they lied on the birth certificate to
keep the law from catching up with them after the birth of Larry Phillips jr. the family disappears again they
disappear until the 22nd of September 1976 Dorothy and Larry jr. were living in a small town near Denver Larry Sanger
wasn't living with them at the time but he visited that day to celebrate Larry juniors sixth birthday it's
unknown who tipped them off but shortly after Larry senior arrived seven FBI agents stormed the house and arrested
him he was sent back to jail to serve the rest of his sentence for the gas station robbery after being on the run
for seven years an idea that was an experience Larry jr. wouldn't forget but 1980
Larry's senior and Dorothy had divorced during his Ferretti visitation with Larry jr. Larry's senior passed on his
any police and anti-establishment views in 1986 Dorothy decided to move to Los Angeles Larry jr. had quit high school
in the ninth grade and he was dating a girl by the name of Sharon Santos who would later become his wife and mother
to his two children while now Larry jr. had developed our love of bodybuilding once moving to Los Angeles he quickly
bought a five year membership to the world-famous Gold's Gym at Venice Beach like so many before him Larry jr. had
plans to make it peak he wanted to be the next Arnold Schwarzenegger he was committed to his trips to Gold's Gym
with two hours each way from where he was living but after a few years he realized he wasn't going to make it as a
professional bodybuilder he led his gym membership expire and look to other avenues to find his fortune in 1990 he
looked to cash in on the Los Angeles booming property market he applied for and was granted a real estate sales
license it was granted on the grounds that he passed the future exam and that he would come up clean on a background
check it was the background check that was his undoing a fingerprint check matched him
to an arrest in 1989 where he shoplifted $400 worth of clothes it was his first and only arrest at the time his
bodybuilding dream didn't work out and now he's planned real estate career was taken away Larry jr. became down-and-out
instead of taking responsibility he decided to blame everybody else he came to resent society and its rules he
decided to move back to Denver with his wife Sharon and his children Larry found
alternative methods to try and make it rich he contacted local real estate agents and went through a number of
properties up with the sale he posed as a prospective buyer he would watch the real estate agent unlock their houses
lockbox which contained the keys and then he would memorize their combination he then placed his own ads in the local
paper under a fake name claiming to have several rental properties available people would ring him up and he would
take the prospective renters to inspect the properties that were actually for sale
Larry would claim the sale of the house had gone through and the new owners wanted to rent the property out as soon
as possible he accepted down payments for rent and security deposits but the scheme didn't last long he was arrested
it was charged with this game but he was released pending a sentencing hearing Larry was looking at two years in Denver
County Jail whilst also participating in a work-release program whilst waiting for his sentencing to be official he
split up from Sharon it was 1992 when he walked out on her and their two kids he didn't show up for his sentencing
hearing and a warrant was issued for his arrest it was back in 1989 while still working at a Gold's Gym in Venice Beach
that Larry Phillips jr. met his friend Emil Madison Oh Emil also had an interest in bodybuilding as well as an
interest in firearms Emil was born in Romania on the 19th of July 1966 he migrated to the USA in 1976 he went to
high school at Pasadena High where his mother says he was the victim of bullying after finishing high school
emil completed a three-year electronics engineering degree at university and in 1988 emil opened up his own computer
business selling computer parts offering servicing and repairs as well as writing
some software but the business was a failure and never got off the ground he later married and had a son but the
marriage didn't last his wife left him after leaving his wife and children in Denver Larry Phillips jr. returned to
Los Angeles where he hooked back up with his buddy and meal mater Serrano a meal
fresh off his failed business venture and Larry fresh off his failed bodybuilding real estate in scheme
endeavors got together to work out what they're going to do to make it rich well
maybe a more accurate description was Larry tried to work out what he was going to do to make a rich and how a
meal was going to help him do it Larry had big dreams of a rich extravagant lifestyle this is a person who used to
drive to rich neighborhoods and park outside of a house he liked and then picture himself living there
Larry wouldn't bring anybody into his inner circle without a plan for how he could use them to his advantage he was
the type of person that would try and break people down and build them back up so he could control them Larry was the
manipulator Emile was the follower he did whatever Larry said it was the 20th of July 1993 when they committed their
first armed robbery they ambushed an armored car outside a branch of First Bank in Littleton Colorado it was the
start of a spate of robberies that would lead Larry Anam eel to be dubbed the high incident bandits they weren't
suspects for the robbery at the time police had no idea who was responsible so when they'll hold over three months
later police didn't know Larry animal had already committed a violent armed robbery it was the 29th of October 1993
when Larry and Emil were pulled over in Glendale California Larry was driving an Emil was in the
front passenger seat they were stopped by sergeant Ingram's when questioned Larry said he had left
these Lawson's at home and he gave a false name sergeant groans then asked who's carat
watts to which Emil replied it was Larry's mother's car sergeant Grimes had already done a check and knew it was
actually an airport rental he got Larry to step out of the car and when he patted him down he found a Glock pistol
with an extended 33 round magazine then he heard a thud from inside the car that
was a mule dropping his own pistol underneath the passenger seat sergeant groans called for assistance and covered
Larry and Emile until backup arrived when they got there a search of the car uncovered a semi-automatic rifle and a
spring fuel pistol belonging to Larry and a semi-automatic rifle and a Colt pistol belonging to a meal along with
the firearms the police also found a heap of 30-round magazines as well as a heap of 75 round drum magazines combined
they contained a total of 1649 rounds of thirty nine millimeter ammo they also found nine hundred and sixty
seven rounds of 9-millimeter and a three hundred and fifty seven rounds of 45 mo6
smoke bombs two improvised explosive devices one gas mask two sets of body armor - police scanners sunglasses
gloves week's ski masks and a stopwatch - spray cans of hair color three different sets
of Californian license plates and one thousand six hundred and twenty dollars in cash they'll both arrested and taken
to Glendale police station the police were convinced they just stopped a bank robbery from happening and given what
was to come they were obviously right Larry Phillips jr. was charged with conspiracy to commit robbery grand theft
auto unlawful weapons activity carrying a loaded concealed firearm and felony perjury Emile mater Serrano was charged
with conspiracy to commit robbery unlawful weapons activity and carrying a loaded firearm in a vehicle at their
preliminary hearing the grand theft auto charge and the perjury charge against Larry were dropped on the remaining
charges that are facing eight years jail each the problem was neither Larry or Emile said a word and the police had no
other information to go on so it was difficult to prove they were going to commit a robbery even though that was
the logical conclusion given the Arsenal and the disguises they were feeling with
there was another thing to prove it in court at their arraignment they gave a story that the disguises were in
preparation for a Halloween party and that they had the weapons an mo because they were headed to a shooting range
in exchange for early guilty pleas the DA dropped their conspiracy robbery charges and allowed Larry and Emil to
play to much lesser charges Larry was sentenced to 99 days jail with three years probation Emil was sentenced to 71
days jail with three years probation both were actually released straightaway due to time already served the date was
the 27th of December 1993 Larry was still wanted in Denver on the rental property scam but for unknown reasons
Denver authorities didn't pursue him he wasn't extradited back there to face punishment
so essentially Larry was a free man it was about 18 months later on the 14th of June 1995 that Larry Anam you'll hit
another armored car Firmin Cook was a guard working for Brinks security he was working on an armored car doing cash
drop-offs and pickups to banks Herman had just made a drop-off to the Bank of America on Roscoe Boulevard Winnetka Los
Angeles he was walking back to the armored car with an empty money bag it was here that Herman was completely
ambushed shot multiple times without warning you know completely unprovoked attack Herman staggered his way back to
the front of the armored car where he collapsed he was never even able to draw his firearm his partner Philippe Cortez
was in the armored car at the time Emile then opened fire on the car while Larry made the approach Philippe was
able to get a few shots off he said he even hit one of them but it did nothing but stagger them Ackley Sandow were
wearing body armor Philippe was also shot in the attack [Music] Larry was able to reach into the car and
grab a bag of money he and Emile then escaped making off with a hundred and twenty two thousand dollars
Philippe survived but Herman wasn't so lucky he died as a result of his gunshot wounds after that robbery Larry and
Emile decided to change tactics they decided to go for thanks no more armored cars on the second of May 1996 just
before 10 a.m. Larry animal burst through the doors of the bank of america on Woodman Avenue
van nuys both were armed with automatic rifles after yelling at everyone get on the [ __ ] floor
Emile started shooting through the armored till a door due to the type of weapon and caliber of bullet Emile was
using he shot the door open easily he you're now for the manager who identified herself he forced her to open
the vault and Emile started filling up a large bag with cash Larry remained out in the foyer area of
the bank keeping an eye on the customers and other staff members they were inside
the bank for around 6 minutes and managed to get away with 750 5048 dollars only four weeks later on May 31st Larry
Anam you'll burst through the doors of the Bank of America on Roscoe Boulevard when a car the same bank they robbed the
armored van outside of killing herman cook about a year earlier very similar to the previous bank robbery they
yielded everybody to get down one of the tellers managed to hit the Solon alarm before diving onto the floor
Emil shot his way through the teller door grabbed the manager and forced her to open the bottle two bank employees
were struck by ricochets but they survived Emil was screaming at the manager to fill up his bag he was
becoming agitated at the amount of money that was in the vault or the lack of money he kept screaming where's the rest
of it and he made several threats to kill the manager what had happened was that Larry Anam you had done
surveillance on the bank and saw what they thought was a cash delivery from an armored car what they had actually seen
was a cash pickup that's why there wasn't as much money in the vault as they had planned despite being
disappointed in the hall they still managed to steal seven hundred and ninety-four thousand two hundred dollars
although there were several marked bills in amongst the cash they got lucky that
day to the police were thin on the ground and it took them much longer to respond to the alarm than usual Larry
and Emil were in the bank for close to eight minutes most other days the police would have been there by then but on
this occasion they weren't and they managed to get away the police still had no suspects for the robberies they had a
nickname though the high incident bandits but nobody knew who they were it would be nine months before they struck
again branch 384 of the Bank of America is located at 6600 Laurel Canyon Boulevard
North Hollywood Larry and Emil had done their homework staking out the bank learning the layout formulating their
plan and observing armored car drop-offs and pickups they arrived at the bank about 9:15 a.m. emil drove the white
shelf with blackened out windows into the northern parking lot via arch wood street they weren't
mucking around larry was wearing a Kevlar body armor vest a groin protector and by using additional vests he had
made improvised armor for his shins thighs and forearms his upper arms weren't protected but he was still
pretty well covered the body armor weighed 43 pounds in total or about 20 kilos he also wore a load-bearing vest
that contained ammunition Peters as well as a belt that contains several campaign
piazzas which is where he stories ammunition drums in for the automatic rifles he also had a shoulder holster
which was carrying a pistol he wore black gloves with a watch face glued to the back of the left cloth he was
dressed in long black pants and a long-sleeved dark colored shirt with a black jacket over the top Emile was
virtually dressed the same with a very similar setup right down to the glued watch base on the back of his glove
although he didn't have quite as much body armor as Larry his legs and arms weren't as well protected as if they
didn't look intimidating enough they were both of a very large build remember it was their interesting body building
that allowed them to meet and as they had done with the previous robberies they covered their faces with black ski
masks between them they had three ak-47 style fully automatic assault rifles with 100
ryo demo drums as well as two other assault rifles the rifles had been illegally modified to fire fully
automatic they also had two 9-millimeter handguns and a 38 caliber revolver between them they had close to 3,000
rounds of ammo including armor-piercing rounds these were weapons that were designed
for war war they set their watches for a time of 8 minutes the maximum time they
believed they had until police would arrive they then made their move armed with an ak-47 assault rifle each plus
their handguns they walked to the northern doorway of the bank a distance of about 32 feet or 10 meters from where
they had parked the time was 917 a.m. they left their other assault rifles in the Chev along with the police radio as
I were entering the bank an LAPD North Hollywood patrol vehicle was driving down Laurel Canyon Boulevard just on a
routine patrol pure luck right place at the right time or wrong place depending on which way you look at it the patrol
car was being driven by Officer Perillo officer Farrell was in the passenger seat
after spotting Larry and a mule they swung the police car into the southern parking lot of the Bank of America and
took up positions behind their patrol car covering the bank Farrell then made the first broadcast Kitteridge
there was a foyer containing three ATMs at the northern entrance to the bank a customer was using one of the ATMs when
he felt somebody approached him from behind turning around he got quite the shock when he saw Larry anymore Larry
Phillips said okay [ __ ] let's go not about to argue the customer went willingly with Larry and Emil and
walked inside the bank with them as soon as I entered the bank Emile started firing his rifle into the roof yelling
everyone down Larry yard this is a [ __ ] hold up everyone dear [ __ ] nobody argued although one
of the tellers was able to hit the holdup alarm before diving to the floor the inside of the bankers h-11 and five
others are the bank of america north of not tremble we're on camera Lord the kitchen to the big door in front of the
beam just like the previous bank robberies Emil approached the teller door and shut
his way through it the door was bullet-resistant designed to stop any pistol round but it was no
match for Emile's high-powered automatic assault rifle once he got through the door Emil yelled get the money or we
will kill you Joe Vuli grana the branch's assistant manager got up and made himself known
Emil laying the rifle at him and told him to open the vault as I'll making their way there Emil struck him in the
back of the head with the rifle there were about thirty people in the banking total including five people in the
safety deposit box room as a meal and Joe walked past that room heading towards the vault and will shut off more
rounds into the roof screaming at the people in a safety deposit box room big area
Larry remained out in the lobby of the bank keeping control of the customers and other employees meanwhile officer
Farrell kept the radio transmissions coming telling the other police where people set up the next stop assist
arrived on scene when detectives Tracy Angela's and William Krulak they arrived about 9:19 a.m. and pulled up in a
parking lot opposite the bank's entrance on the western side sergeant Murray Haynes was next on scene he blocked off
the intersection of Laurel Canyon Boulevard in arch which Street which was north of the Bank
so he had a view of the door Larry and Emil attempted it's believed that Larry and Emil had no idea the police are
outside at this time they didn't have their police radio with them they left that out in the ship there were a few
civilian witnesses hanging outside the bank Tracy Fischer Michael Horan and Barry
Golding they saw sergeant Haines arrive and they'll approach him to know what they had seen less than 30 seconds later
Larry walked out of the bank he must have been tipped somehow that the police were there possibly hearing sirens or
seeing a patrol car sergeant Haines made this broadcast I think somebody just came out of the
America advisors I know in person has exited the bank [Music] Larry walked out of the northern exit he
casually looked around and surveyed the scene not looking concerned at all from his position he probably would have only
been able to see the patrol car of sergeant Haines so it might not have looked that bad to him but there were
other police there not to mention the large amounts still on the way after having a look around Larry turned around
and calmly walked back inside the bank shortly after this officer Martin Whitfield arrived and parked next to
sergeant Haines while this was going on Emil had gained entry to the vault but progress was slow due to the cache being
separated into different lockable boxes this was designed to slow down bank robberies and it was working
once he walked back inside the bank Larry walked over to a security guard who was lying down on the lobby floor he
put his foot on his neck pointed his rifle at him and said if you move [ __ ] I would kill you when I
tell you I want you to move all these people to the vault the security guard nodded Larry then
walked off shooting his rifle into the roof screaming nobody look at me or I will kill you back inside the vault
Emile was becoming furious there was no any of the amount of money you thought there would be due to the large amount
of recent robberies including the two at Van Nuys and we netkar that Larry and Emil had committed the bank of America
had changed its delivery schedule the North Hollywood branch still hadn't received their cash delivery he started
firing his weapon out of frustration the police outside the bank could hear all this automatic gunfire being led off
the call was put in for SWAT to attend [Music] from the suspects at Laurel Canyon north
of church at the Bank of America police had the bank surrounded officer Haynes and Whitfield were at the
intersection of Laurel Canyon Boulevard and arch Wood Street to the north they had a good view of the northern
doorway officer Brent lingo was east of their position covering the northeastern
side of the bank first officers on the scene Farrell and perello were still in position in the southern parking lot
detectives croolik and Angela's had been joined by officers of war van and officer guy in the parking lot opposite
the bank on the western side and there was still plenty more police officers on the way back inside the vault
Joe had placed three hundred and three thousand three hundred and five dollars inside in the ORS bag but in amongst all
that cash were three dye packs Emile walked out of the vault towards the teller door Larry Nadia talk bank
employee open the door open the [ __ ] door she complied Larry then yelled to the
security guard then it was time to move the people to the vault Larry and Emil had been inside the bank
for seven minutes it was near 9:24 a.m. and it was at this time that Larry burst
through the northern door of the bank looking straight up towards the intersection of arch Wood Street and
Laurel Canyon Boulevard where offices Haynes and Whitfield were within a second of hesitation
Larry opened fire first at Haynes patrol car the three civilian witnesses were still in that area too they all
immediately died for cover when the shooting started Whitfield was behind his patrol car which was parked mr.
Haynes Larry took aim at that and unleashed on him as well the bullets easily ripped through the
car and struck officer we filled up on your location our unit by now is united by this ride shots fired five hundred at
Laurel Canyon we have our unit just ease your clicking have Latonya Norton Kitteridge at the bank of America shots
are being fired we often stay down shot by being fired from an ak-47 there's an officer down as
Larry started firing to the north officers at Moravian saw an opportunity he was to the southwest of him taking
cover behind the locksmiths kiosk with officer guy and detectives crew lack in DeAngelis
so in effect Larry almost had his back turned to serve our vans position Zipporah van took the opportunity he
stepped out from behind his cover and fired two shots from his pump-action shotgun some of the pellets did strike
Larry in the back one even found a gap in his body armor and struck him directly the hit caused Larry to stumble
but he didn't fall he turned to reenter face sir Borov Ian who by now was making
his way back behind the locksmith kiosk Larry opened up on the kiosk foring over a hundred rounds into the
building it was very flimsy cover bullets were going through the walls easily ricocheting everywhere the
officers hit the ground suburbian and guy had body armor but the two detectives didn't realizing this zubarev
and placed his body over the top of Detective Angeles and only a few seconds later it was shot twice he started
bleeding heavily the officers are now we have after having and we are declaring attack
alert RA is a real plus being notified to airlift after unloading on the locksmith kiosk
Larry turned around back to the north back towards Whitfield pains and the three civilian witnesses Haynes was
broadcasting on the police radio when larry opened fire again this time he struck Haynes hitting him in the upper
left arm the patrol car was offering only minimal protection the bullets were destroying it and
mostly going straight through it Tracy Fischer could see her cupboard dwindling away she tried to make a run
for it but she was struck in the foot before she got anywhere she dropped back down behind the patrol car Horan had
also been struck with a bullet so there was now three people behind the patrol car of Haynes who had been wounded
including Haynes himself back behind the locksmith kiosk detective crew like ASP
officers Borov and if he could run despite being shot zaboor events any could they tried to get the safety using
vehicles in the parking lot as cover but larry spotted them and unleashed more bullets they were hit and cut with the
glass and other fragments of the cars and the ground Krulak was struck in the right ankle
they managed to spot a doorway and made a run for it Larry still peppering them with bullets
they managed to crash through it they didn't have time to stop and open the door so they just dived right through
the glass the doorway was an entrance to a dentist surgery also using the cars as
cover detective Angela's an officer guy tried to escape as well Larry turned his
attention to them and sprayed them with bullets they dive for cover behind the cars the total time Larry had been
firing at the place was about three minutes during that time he fired approximately 300 rounds and wounded
several officers and civilians at 9:27 a.m. Larry walked back inside the bank the police had no answer for that
onslaught one officer put it best when he said I was in the wrong place with the wrong gun the bullet sir police were
using were incapable of penetrating Larry's body armor and as most of his body was covered with body armor the
police were basically no chance of striking Larry on the other hand had an automatic assault rifle with
armor-piercing rounds that were going straight through the police cars and walls with ease it wasn't a fair fight
as Larry walked back inside the bank the bore of em was calling out for help inside the dentist's surgery dr. Montez
came to his aid detective Krulak was inside covering the entrance just in case Larry decided to
come after them [Music] yeah so I had more and more officers were arriving taking up positions around
the perimeter at 9:30 a.m. Larry walked back outside this time he had a meal with him they both carried the bag of
money through the doorway as they walked out the door they both opened fire so this time there
were two people shooting at officer guy and detective into us upstairs in the dentist office suburbian was looking out
the window and he could see what was going on he yelled into the police radio officer
guy into the building behind you he was trying to direct his fellow officer the safety but officer guy was pinned down
by the heavy fire the bullets ripped through the car he was taking cover behind and he was struck in the right
thigh he took off his gun belt and used it as a makeshift torniquet which would actually save his life detective Angeles
was also wounded the police were basically helpless at this point most of the original responders had been wounded
SWAT still hadn't arrived they were actually on a training exercise at the police academy when the call came
through Larry and Emile continued to fire at anything that moved [Music] despite being completely surrounded they
calmly left the entrance of the bank and walked out into the open already wounded officers Haynes and
Whitfield we're still behind their patrol cars with the three civilians when they saw Larry Anam you'll leave
the bank and now we're actually moving towards their position they made a quick decision to try and protect the
civilians and draw the fire away from them so Haynes of Whitfield got up and ran during the fire towards them Haynes
managed to reach a nearby tree line taking cover but he was wounded again in the left shin Whitfield took cover
behind a nearby tree but not before being shot through the thigh the bullet shattered his femur putting him in a
really bad way he managed to crawl his way to behind the tree not satisfied with badly wounding him Larry nermal
continued to fire heavily in his direction they were trying to finish him off [Music]
there were nail offices down everywhere coffee help in the building pouring parking lot if possibly also also an
offer down a victory in our foot in the building use market multiple authors hit
they're sitting in a tank for the officer oh yeah citywide TAC alert we are now on TAC alert due to a unusual
occurrence in North Hollywood division a citywide tracker maybe a helicopters had
started to a robonia and now we're capturing the first pictures of this madness that would be broadcast around
the world a police helicopter was also circling above giving updates on what they could see from the air
Larry carried the bag containing the money to the chef Emile was still shooting offering Larry covering fire by
near the dye packs had exploded but a lot of the money was still actually usable that wasn't all the limiters
Larry dropped the bag next to the chef and grabbed some more ammunition Emile wasn't too far behind him
going through the front door the suspect or exiting through the north exiting the
bank on the north side of the building on with ak-47 wearing heavy body armor firing officers stay down party air unit
as Emile was making his way to the chef he was grazed above the right eye with a
bullet the wound was only a few millimeters away from killing him he was extremely lucky he dropped to one
knee behind the chef while he assessed the damage once he realized he was okay he jumped into the chef he also had a
gunshot wound to the calf by now Larry though didn't seem too interested in getting in the car he was still
shooting at anything and everything I know a lot more officers were on scene and he himself has been fired upon from
multiple positions he was shot at least three times in this particular exchange but none of the bullets put him down
whilst waiting for SWAT to arrive the North Hollywood watch commander put a call out for any available officers to
go to a nearby B&B gun store and get some bigger guns that would have the ability to get through Larry and Emile
was body armor I want to go to the EAD you pick a wet weapon just beyond Panjal everybody available
to beacon crash 40 wasn't going to get done several units responded to the call the store wasn't open when they got
there but they managed to get the staffs attention who were inside they opened up
and the shop owner instructed his staff to give the police whatever they wanted Larry made his way back to the chef and
swap weapons [Music] [Music] why he didn't get into the car to start the getaway at this point nobody knows
instead he took a knee in front of the chef aimed upward and started firing at the helicopters Larry was shot again but
the body armor was still holding up he continued firing non-stop Emile open the passenger door beckoning for Larry
to get in but Larry slammed the door shut he was in the spot taking multiple hits Larry still wasn't going down the
body armor was too effective that left only one place to aim the call was put it up to aim for the head meanwhile
officer Whitfield had been keeping radio contact but it was starting to get touch-and-go
we have an officer down victory left of law and he needs help call three is Pappy out
left of the 170 freeway at victory the obsolete help immediately to officers who responded to the office of the uncle
where Anthony Kabu NOC and Todd Schmitz I believe what happened is that they were responding to officer Whitfield's
call but in doing so they came across detective Angeles and officer guy who were also wounded and still pinned down
taking cover in the parking lot opposite the bank officer kibou knock grabs officer guy and pulled him up into the
car detective Angeles was able to get herself in officer Schmitz then reversed harshly back out of the parking lot and
got angela's and guy medical help it's around this time that SWAT arrived they immediately got to work rescuing
the other injured officers and the injured civilians they got hold of an armored car to assist in the rescue so
doctor is rescued Fire Department has set up to them so the fire station 89 and bringing in the helicopter think
about Brina after when he'd rescue - five seconds five patient and I they have unit standing by in Laurel Canyon
[Music] on Laurel Canyon - officer is down unconscious after that down cover behind
the tree - is being notify we're trying to get someone in for him Amil put the chevy motion deciding it
was time to try and leave emil drove slowly and larry walking next to the car continuing to shoot at anything you
could eventually they slowly made their way out of the parking lot turning right onto arch wood street
Larry's still walking next to the ship Larry walked along the footpath beside a large truck with a long trailer that was
parked on the side of the road Emile continued driving east on arch wood but officers were waiting Larry got shot
twice more forcing him back to take cover behind the truck trailer but Emile was still driving east
so no one else separated from the parking lot we've got one thing that doc put the suspect on foot behind a long
trailer in a vehicle trailer eastbound near arch woods officer Torres had a clear shot and
unloaded 12 bullets into the chef the shots caused the meal to accelerate harshly creating an even bigger gap
between him and his partner Larry was in big trouble back behind the truck trailer suffering from several bad
gunshot wounds one of which was going to be fatal if he didn't get attended to now he's rifle jammed as well and he
couldn't clear it he dropped the rifle and pulled out a Beretta pistol and started walking east again along arch
would eyes would weigh up ahead he could see a meal still in the chef Emile wasn't waiting you know he had his own
problems being pursued by other officers and at least seven officers stood in Larry's path Larry continued firing at
them with the Beretta but he was shot yet again he was near suffering about eleven gunshot wounds the latest one
struck him in the hand which caused him to drop the pistol he picked it back up off the ground put it under his chin and
shot himself in the head he died instantly Larry Phillips jr. was 26 years old [Music]
meanwhile up the road Emil was closely being followed by police on the Grant and helicopters in the air he quickly
realized he needed to swap cars as the ship was leaking fuel had flat tires and wouldn't be drivable for much longer he
was still driving east on arch wood street when a red Ford sedan dragged towards him obviously seeing the shut up
beetle and a meal behind the wheel the red Ford started to reverse Emil got out of his chef and motion for the red Ford
to come back it didn't so Emil started firing all of this was being caught on footage times were getting desperate for
a meal and to get away was near looking close to impossible he got back into the
chef and just sat there doing nothing he sat there for over 10 seconds before finally acting again you put the chef
into drive and continued east along arch wood Street about between eleven setback
he found another target a 1962 Jade gladiator being driven by Bill Maher Emil started firing through the
windscreen at the Jeep and that was enough for bill to stop and get it up and run Emil pulled up next to the jury
he got here and dumped these weapons and ammo into it he got in and attempted to
drive off and he couldn't get the car started [Music] and it was at this time that a police
car containing three SWAT officers Donnie Anderson Steve Gomez and Richard Messer were flying down arch woods
straight towards Emile Emile was now in the Jeep pacing west on art wood the SWAT officers were heading east so they
were head-on in an incredibly brave move he just drove straight at Emile pulling
up the car at an angle directly in front of the Jeep when he saw the SWAT officers pull up Emile jumped out and
took cover back behind the shed so there was only about thirty feet or ten meters
distance between the SWAT officers and Emile and there were three cars in between them they then engaged in a
fierce gun battle between I lost a bad light for crossfire Emile was struck several times but was saved by his body
armor yet again it didn't take the SWAT officers long to realize that if they fired underneath the vehicles they would
be able to hit the legs of a mule which were protected by body armor their plan worked
they hit a meal multiple times in the legs one bullet actually shattered his leg but still a meal wasn't giving up he
kept trying to fire the SWAT officers but SWAT were winning the battle Emil was hit several more times and
eventually they finally stopped him Emil collapsed dropping his weapon and SWAT pantsed on him that exchange lasted
just under two minutes the time was near 1001 p.m. after 44 minutes of mayhem the
North Hollywood shootout was over but the scene was obviously still chaotic injured officers and injured civilians
everywhere and the police still weren't entirely sure if they had all the gunmen
or if there was still one more on the loose the scene and surrounding areas wouldn't be fully cleared until over 12
hours later Amil was down but he was still alert he was placed under the guard of detectives
James watch ticky and officer John future Emil had been shot 29 times he stayed alive for just over an hour but
an ambulance never got to him in time and he died at the scene he was aged 30 years old a few years later
Emile's family filed a civil suit against the LAPD and specifically the two officers who were guarding him
the LAPD responded by saying a standard procedure not to allow paramedics into what was called the hot zone putting
them in danger they maintained they were of the belief that there was at least one and possibly more gunmen still on
the loose it was alleged in the court case that paramedics had made their way to Emile's location while he was still
alive but one of the officers told them to leave it is also alleged other paramedics were heading that way but
their attendance was canceled by Officer future all over the air some people say they deliberately let
him die the LAPD maintained that they were following standard procedure the jury couldn't decide the case
resulted in a hung jury after that result Emile's family ended up dropping the civil suit during that
44 minutes emil and larry had fired about 1100 grants the police had fired about 650 reals over three hundred
police officers attended in what was a citywide tactical alert certainly two officers in total fired their weapons at
a meal and Larry at one point or another 17 officers were awarded the Medal of Valor which is the LAPD's highest honor
awarded for bravery or heroism above and beyond the normal demands of police service a total of 11 police and seven
civilians were injured but by some miracle the only people that lost their lives that they were Larry Phillips jr.
and Emil Madison Oh don't burn guys in here this may have your hunter brother black and right
there out brought up all the black and wife is the vocation are unusable there have shots fired
[Music] you

Case 18: The North Hollywood Shootout

On the 28th of February 1997 Los Angeles police officers, Perello and Farrell were on routine patrol driving along Laurel Canyon Blvd, North Hollywood.

As they were driving past the Bank of America they saw two large figures enter the bank. Both were dressed in black, both were wearing ski masks and both were carrying automatic rifles. What followed, was 44 minutes of mayhem…

CREDITS

Narration – Anonymous Host Research and writing – Anonymous Host Production, scoring – Mike Migas

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RESOURCES

For all credits and sources please visit https://www.casefilepodcast.com/case-18-the-north-hollywood-shootout

Brief Summary

The episode details the North Hollywood shootout, its perpetrators, and the police response to the violent bank robbery.

Key points

The Birth of a Criminal. Larry Phillips Jr. was born under a false identity to parents on the run.
The First Armed Robbery. Larry and Emil commit their first armed robbery, marking the start of their crime spree.
The High Incident Bandits. Larry and Emil become known as the high incident bandits after a series of robberies.
The Deadly Ambush. Herman Cook, a security guard, is ambushed and killed during a robbery.
The Bank of America Heist. Larry and Emil execute a violent bank robbery, stealing over $700,000.
The North Hollywood Shootout Begins. Larry and Emil engage in a violent shootout with police, showcasing their firepower.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

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15:51WatchNov 19, 2018

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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