ONE GUNMAN MAY HAVE KILLED HIMSELF : THE SMALL-TIME GRIFTER.

Byline: Jaxon Van Derbeken and Stacy Finz Daily News Staff Writers

A gunman involved in the reign of terror outside of a North Hollywood bank last week might have shot himself during the rolling gunfight with police, officials said Monday.

A wound to the man's chin might have been self-inflicted, but it is unclear whether it was accidental and could have killed him, said Scott Carrier, spokesman for the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office.

``There are numerous gunshot wounds. We are unable to determine which caused his death,'' Carrier said.

The man, identified as Larry Eugene Phillips Jr., was seen on television coverage walking down Archwood Street casually firing a handgun at police. At one point he seems to bring the gun to his face, and then there is a puff of smoke and 26-year-old Phillips falls to the ground.

It remains unclear who inflicted the wound. Police were aiming for the robbers' heads, according to audio tapes of police radio broadcasts that were released Monday.

``Officer: Suspect is walking in front of the bank. He is daring people to come after him. The trunk is open on his vehicle. If someone has a shot take it at his head.''

``Officer: Take it, this guy is not going down.''

``Officer: Shoot him in the head.''

The tapes help paint a picture of what happened Friday, as police try to understand what drove these brazen robbers and whether they had acted alone.

``We are looking at any possible ties to terrorist organizations,'' said Los Angeles police spokesman Cmdr. Tim McBride.

LAPD investigators are puzzled over what Phillips and Emil Dechebal Matasareanu, 30, had done with $1.5 million that they are suspected of having robbed from Bank of America branches May 2 and May 31.

Federal investigators said they cannot find any bank accounts for either man, sources said.

Among the details emerging is that Phillips had been a small-time con artist, in trouble with the law in Orange County and Colorado, long before he became a bank robber. And Matasareanu came from a troubled family, once having to defend his mother against a physical attack by his father, according to marriage separation records filed in court.

Phillips had been arrested in 1991 in connection with a real estate fraud scheme, said Detective Jim Carson of the city of Orange. Phillips and two men were taking out phony loans on properties of elderly Altadena residents and then selling the trust deeds at a discount, Carson said.

Arrested in Rancho Mirage, Phillips had a 9 mm pistol in his waistband, Carson said.

Phillips wasn't charged with any crime because he cooperated in the case against his accomplices, Carson said. One accomplice died last year, and the other fled to Canada, Carson said.

``He was calm, he was cooperative, clean shaven - there was nothing there that would say wacko or anything like that,'' Carson said.

Not long after that arrest, Phillips was caught in Denver for a real-estate scheme but later jumped bail.

Teresa Brandon, a real estate agent outside of Denver, said that in 1992, Phillips came to her, using the name of Mark McGuire. The clean-shaven and well-groomed man said he was from Texas and needed a house.

Brandon later learned that after she showed him homes for sale, he came back and rented the same properties, collecting deposits and first month's rents from unsuspecting tenants.

Denver police nabbed him when he accepted $1,000 in rent from an undercover detective.

Sandra Saltrese, Phillips' court-appointed attorney, remembered the man as ``very respectful and courteous.''

``I have dealt with violent offenders; he was not one of them,'' she said.

Good son turned bad

Matasareanu apparently did not take part in Phillips' schemes.

When his family came to the United States, Matasareanu was 10. His father, Viorel Matasareanu, said he enrolled his son in swimming and tennis lessons, and he wrestled in college.

``He was a strong guy,'' he said. ``He was a very disciplined person.''

Matasareanu graduated from DeVry Institute of Technology in 1988, receiving a bachelor's degree in electronic engineering technology.

A large man, Matasareanu joined Jenny Craig to lose weight three years ago, said his counselor, Geneva Burchell. She said she was shocked that Matasareanu was a bank robber.

``It's like saying my mother would do that,'' she said.

According to court records, Matasareanu's parents became embroiled in a separation in 1989, and she obtained a court order barring her husband from her home, where she operated a board-and-care facility for retarded adults.

``About two months ago, he tried to strike me with a chair but my adult son was able to wrestle it from him,'' Valerie Matasareanu wrote in the court file.

Shootout-damage claim forms available

Los Angeles city officials on Monday urged North Hollywood residents and others who might have suffered damage in last Friday's shootout at the Bank of America to quickly file claims for reimbursement.

Claim forms are available at the City Clerk's Office at City Hall or can be mailed to individuals if they call 213-485-5705.

In addition, the forms will be available in the field offices of Councilmen Richard Alarcon and Joel Wachs.

Alarcon's office is located at 8128 Sunland Blvd., Sun Valley, and can be reached at 818-756-7558. Wachs' office is in the Van Nuys Municipal Building, 14410 Sylvan St., Room 112, Van Nuys and can be contacted at 818-756-8074.

Claims must be made within six months and will be reviewed on an individual basis by the City Attorney's Office.

In addition, Alarcon's office announced the city's HandyWorker Program is available to make minor repairs to buildings at no cost. It can be reached at the San Fernando Valley Interfaith Council at 818-761-7395.

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Box: Shootout-damage claim forms available (see text)