TERROR IN SUBURBIA: SHOTS, DEATH, FIRE! GUNBATTLE CLAIMS LIFE OF DEPUTY.

Byline: Bhavna Mistry and Amy Raisin Staff Writers

STEVENSON RANCH - A sheriff's deputy died in a barrage of bullets Friday when a former policemen defied arrest by federal agents, firing dozens of shots from his barricaded home and terrorizing this affluent neighborhood west of Santa Clarita.

After a four-hour standoff, the man's house burst into flames - either from tear gas fired by officers or because he set fire to it - and burned to the ground as firefighters sprayed water from a safe distance. By nightfall, a search of the rubble had failed to find the man's remains.

As the gunfire erupted about 8:15 a.m., mothers huddled in their homes, shielding children from possible stray bullets, until cordons of deputies arrived to escort them to safety. A nearby day care center and elementary school were evacuated for safety and to avoid chaotic scenes of frantic parents racing to get their children.

Deputy Hagop ``Jake'' Kuredjian, 40, died in the first moments of the confrontation when he assisted about a dozen U.S. marshals and agents of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms in trying to arrest James Allen Beck on charges of impersonating an officer and of being a felon in possession of weapons.

Sheriff Lee Baca tearfully announced Kuredjian's death, and fellow officers sat on the curb outside the emergency room at Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital and wept.

``Just about every one loved Jake,'' Kuredjian's commander, Capt. Don Rodriguez said. ``He lit up the station house.''

The federal agents came to Beck's Brooks Circle home because he was suspected of having an arsenal of weapons and of impersonating a law enforcement officer.

They arrived about 5 a.m. to arrest him after a three-month investigation. About a dozen agents surrounded his two-story home.

At 8:15 a.m., they approached the house warily because he was known to keep a vicious dog, and an agent telephoned Beck, urging him to come out. He refused. When they contacted him again, his girlfriend left the house and was taken into custody as a witness.

Still waiting for Beck, the agents tried to knock down the door, then gunfire erupted as officers tried to go through a window. Police returned fire as Kuredjian was hit once in the head. One ATF agent suffered an injury to his wrist in the battle.

``There was an exchange of gunfire over a period of time,'' said sheriff's Sgt. Ken Davidson. ``We found out too late about his arsenal capabilities.''

Scott Carlson was working on a house across the street when he and his partner heard a series of loud pops, which drew them out front to see what was causing the noise.

``We heard some firing, like bap-bap-bap-bap. We didn't know what it was. We thought maybe it was someone firing a nail gun, just messing around,'' Carlson said. ``We just heard a lot of shots.''

As officers helped evacuate nearby residents, sheriff's special-weapons agents tried to flush the suspect out by tossing tear gas grenades into the residence.

Gunfire continued as the home caught fire, the smoke and flames burning for more than two hours - and visible for miles - before finally destroying the structure.

Firefighters stood by as flames engulfed the home, then working from a distance, protected the houses on either side while Beck's house burned to the ground.

As deputies blocked off access to nearby streets, the crackle of gunfire could be heard blocks away - although it is unclear whether shots were being fired or the blaze was igniting rounds of ammunition inside Beck's home.

Late in the afternoon, agents sifted through the rubble while deputies placed scores of orange and yellow markers in the street and in neighbors' yards to show where bullets had landed.

Watching from his front porch as bits of ash drifted by, Brooks Circle resident Buzz Taylor, 78, said he was walking his dog about 8:15 a.m. when he saw the chaotic scene unfold.

``I was walking my dog and I see two cars parked,'' Taylor said. ``Then two guys get out wearing (ATF) shirts. I heard them holler, 'We've got a search warrant; open the door or we'll knock it down.'''

Taylor said he heard a barrage of gunfire moments later and headed back to his home.

Stevenson Ranch sits in the shadow of the craggy Santa Susana Mountains, a subdivision of about 3,000 tract homes and condominiums that's quickly growing. The homes sit on roads named for famed authors. By the end of the day Friday, Beck's home was a blackened foundation sitting among neatly landscaped suburban homes.

``It was a nice neighborhood. We've lived here for about a year,'' Taylor said. ``But you'd never expect anything like this.''

Heavily armed sheriff's deputies helped panicked residents. One of Beck's neighbors called the local station to say he was ``pinned down'' as bullets were fired through the walls into his home.

Another deputy helped a woman with a newborn climb her back fence to escape the gunfire. Bullets were fired into Marilyn Lombardi's home as she cared for her third daughter, born the day before.

Staff Writers Sharon Cotal, Jason Kandel and Heather MacDonald contributed to this story.

CAPTION(S):

3 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) The home of a former police officer goes up in flames after the owner, barricaded inside, shot and killed a sheriff's deputy.

Reed Saxon/Associated Press

(2 -- color) Suspect was recently released from parole.

(3 -- color) Experts say police handled the situation by the book.