PARAMILITARY PURSUIT NEIGHBORHOOD SEARCHED, ROSEDELL SCHOOL LOCKED DOWN BEFORE ARRESTS.

Byline: Naush Boghossian Staff Writer

SAUGUS - A thwarted burglary Monday sent two men running - one of them shedding a gun and bullet-proof vest as he tore through a residential neighborhood and across a school playground during lunch, sheriff's deputies said.

And what investigators uncovered after the two were arrested and a handgun found in a wash by Rosedell Elementary School was chilling.

As school officials hurriedly shepherded children inside, a nearby investigation netted an odd but lethal cache: a loaded assault rifle, a hunting rifle, a knife, more body armor and a bottle of pricey Dom Perignon champagne and a fur coat.

The suspects were outfitted in paramilitary fashion and had phony police identification cards, handcuffs, a police scanner and other paraphernalia, sheriff's Detective Scott Gibson said.

``It reminds you of the North Hollywood shootout,'' Gibson, who searched the car, said. ``The way they're dressed - they have the jacket with the police on the back - they're trying to simulate police agencies for the purpose of doing robberies. It makes me believe they're sophisticated and do a lot of planning for crimes.''

Suspect Chad Richmond, 21, of Lancaster wore army boots and cargo pants favored by SWAT teams. He and Paul Ramonda, also 21, were arrested after a foot-chase through the elementary school and the surrounding residential neighborhood, Gibson said.

There were no injuries, although Ramonda was hospitalized for treatment for dehydration after the chase.

Meanwhile, the school was under lock-down for two hours as the drama unfolded.

The Santa Clarita Valley sheriff's station got the call at 11:30 a.m. from a resident of a condominium complex on Bouquet Canyon Road and Susan Beth Way. The man said two men were trying to break into his home.

Sheriff's deputies arrived and said the two fled, abandoning their car and jumping over a brick wall that separates the complex from a grassy lot. Receiving conflicting reports of either two or three gunmen, deputies and police dogs searched the area unsuccessfully for a third suspect.

Detectives said later that the victim identified the men as two who had broken into his home Feb. 20 in a home-invasion robbery.

``They were looking for drugs,'' Gibson said. ``It was the same unit and the same person. The suspects knew who lived there.''

A search of a white Ford Thunderbird at the condominium complex, a car believed to belong to one of the suspects, revealed the stolen semiautomatic assault rifle in the passenger seat, handcuffs, a baton, ammunition, a smoke grenade, pepper spray, a hunting rifle, a metal detector, a cordless drill, a knife, duct tape and a black leather trench coat, Gibson said.

``They're very dangerous criminals, especially with the firearms found here today,'' he said. ``It leads me to believe they would be up to similar home-invasion robberies elsewhere that we'll have to investigate. They have all the tools for it.''

Richmond and Ramonda were arrested on suspicion of attempted residential burglary, home-invasion robbery and impersonating a police officer, said Sgt. Craig Husbands. Additional weapons charges were pending.

Meanwhile, the Rosedell children stayed indoors, except for some fourth-graders in a bungalow near the wash. Those youngsters were escorted by deputies to the multipurpose room, while deputies and dogs searched the area around the portable classrooms.

Deputies with shotguns walked from classroom to classroom searching for one or possibly two wanted men.

Mothers of kindergartners waited nervously to pick up the little ones from their regular half-day at Rosedell. Other parents saw the commotion and came to school to get their older children.

``It's scary,'' said Michelle Cullen, mother of an 8-year-old at Rosedell. ``It's awful with everything going on. It's hard enough to explain war to an 8-year-old, then to explain police officers wandering the streets with guns.''

CAPTION(S):

6 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color -- ran in SAC edition only) Sheriff's deputies move Rosedell Elementary School children indoors during a search on and near campus for two heavily armed home-invasion suspects.

(2 -- 3 -- color -- ran in SAC edition only) A sheriff's deputy leads off one of two home-invasion burglary suspects arrested by Stardale Drive in Saugus, while the other is loaded into an ambulance for treatment of dehydration after a chase.

(4 -- color in SAC edition only) Two preschoolers kept overtime at Rosedale Elementary School on Monday are led away after a lock-down during a manhunt on and near campus.

(5 -- color -- ran in SAC edition only) Sheriff's deputies search classroom to classroom Monday before arresting two burglary suspects near Rosedell School.

(6 -- color -- ran in SAC edition only) A hunting rifle and tape are part of a cache investigators said they found Monday in a case in which two men, suspected of being paramilitary-style home-invasion burglars, were arrested.

David R. Crane/Staff Photographer