WHY DID HE DO IT? : MOTHER SAYS ROBBER IN WITH BAD CROWD.Byline: Stacy Finz and Mary F. Pols Daily News Staff Writer One of two men who sprayed hundreds of rounds from an AK-47 in North Hollywood on Friday was a ``beautiful'' but troubled son who had fallen in with the wrong crowd and lost his will to live after his wife left him, the slain gunman's mother said Sunday. During a tearful interview, Valerie Nicolescu of Altadena said her son Emil Dechebal Matasareanu Emil Dechebal Matasareanu (July 19, 1966 – February 28, 1997) is best known as one of two men who robbed a Bank of America in North Hollywood, California, on February 28, 1997. He was born in Romania and grew up in Altadena. suffered painful seizures from a 1994 head injury, had trouble finding a job, and had been depressed since his wife left him about six months ago, taking the couple's 6-year-old son, Emil. ``He could no longer take life,'' the mother said, religious candles burning in her darkened dark·en v. dark·ened, dark·en·ing, dark·ens v.tr. 1. a. To make dark or darker. b. To give a darker hue to. 2. To fill with sadness; make gloomy. 3. home as she mourned her son. ``He was acting in desperation.'' ``I just want people to know that my son was very intelligent and very good,'' she added. ``I think he just got into the wrong crowd.'' Matasareanu and accomplice Larry Eugene Phillips Jr. were gunned down by police Friday in a spectacular, televised shootout Shootout Venture capital jargon. Refers to two or more venture capital firms fighting for the startup. after a botched botch tr.v. botched, botch·ing, botch·es 1. To ruin through clumsiness. 2. To make or perform clumsily; bungle. 3. To repair or mend clumsily. n. 1. bank robbery The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please [ improve this article] or discuss the issue on the talk page. Bank robbery is the crime of robbing a bank. at a Bank of America
Bank of America (NYSE: BAC TYO: 8648 ) is the largest commercial bank in the United States in terms of deposits, and the largest company of its kind in the world. on Laurel Canyon Boulevard Laurel Canyon Boulevard is a major street in the city of Los Angeles, California. It starts off at Polk Street in Sylmar in the northern San Fernando Valley near the junction of the San Diego (Interstate 405) and the Golden State Freeways (Interstate 5). south of Kittridge Street. Eleven police officers and six civilians were wounded. Nicolescu, who had been an opera singer in her native Romania, said her son's troubles began three years ago. She said he suffered a blood clot blood clot n. A semisolid, gelatinous mass of coagulated blood that consists of red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets in a fibrin network. in his head when he was struck by a patient in the day-care facility for the disabled and mentally ill that he and his mother operated out of their home. He underwent surgery but had seizures. Then, the state took away the day-care license. Matasareanu's marriage faltered, and his wife and child returned to Romania, the mother said. But neighbor Walter Kennedy
Walter Kennedy , 82, recalled a different Matasareanu. Kennedy said the man once swung a chain saw in his face, apparently angry that the neighbor's dog urinated in his front lawn. Little was known of Phillips, 26, on Sunday. He had lived in Altadena, Santa Ana Santa Ana, city, El Salvador Santa Ana (sän'tä ä`nä), city (1993 pop. 129,873), W El Salvador. It is the second largest city in the country and the commercial and processing center for a sugarcane, coffee, and cattle region. and Alhambra, and was wanted on suspicion of second-degree burglary in Colorado. Neither Los Angeles police nor the Los Angeles County coroner The Los Angeles County Department of Coroner was created in its present form on December 7, 1990 by an ordinance approved by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, though it has existed in some form since the late 19th century. would confirm the identities of the gunmen Sunday. Their names were obtained from other sources. Nicolescu said she had never met Phillips, although he and her son had been arrested together in 1993 after police discovered them with an enormous cache of weapons during a routine traffic stop in Glendale. The pair served brief jail sentences and were placed on three years' probation. Police said earlier they would not have been able to make conspiracy or robbery charges stick. The cache looked like a bank robbery kit, police said. It included a carload carload In commodities trading, a railroad car or truckload of grain that ranges from 1,400 to 2,500 bushels. of high-powered weapons, disguises, smoke bombs and more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition. Nicolescu said her son was a good person but was hanging out with a bad crowd. Matasareanu and Phillips were clad in neck-to-ankle body armor when they emerged from the Bank of America on Laurel Canyon Boulevard south of Kittridge Street about 9:15 a.m. Friday, AK-47s blazing. The would-be robbers waged a furious gunbattle with police, but they also sprayed automatic weapons fire indiscriminately at passers-by, homes and shops. Police, armed only with service revolvers and heavily outgunned, mortally wounded the robbers in their heads and throats. Two officers remained hospitalized Sunday. Martin Whitfield, 29, of the Van Nuys Division, and Stuart Guy, 31, of the North Hollywood Division, were in good condition, according to police. A male civilian who underwent surgery Friday for gunshot wounds to the torso was in stable condition Sunday at North Hollywood Medical Center The North Hollywood Medical Center, (), was a hospital in the city of North Hollywood, CA. The now decommissioned hospital, which is at 12699 Riverside Drive in the North Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, is the location . Denver police confirmed Sunday they have a file on Phillips but declined to release its contents without permission from Los Angeles police, who declined to grant such authority Sunday. Glendale police said earlier they had turned over information about Phillips and Matasareanu to the FBI last year because their shoot-'em-up style of operation matched that in bank robberies in Van Nuys and Winnetka. FBI spokesman John Hoos declined to comment Sunday. Matasareanu had been estranged es·trange tr.v. es·tranged, es·trang·ing, es·trang·es 1. To make hostile, unsympathetic, or indifferent; alienate. 2. To remove from an accustomed place or set of associations. since July from his father, Viorel Matasareanu, who lives in a Pasadena apartment for senior citizens about 10 miles from that of Nicolescu, from whom he is divorced. ``I can't believe it. I think now I want to return to Romania. I came here only for him,'' the father said. The father had spent time in jail in Romania after speaking out against communism about 20 years ago, he said. He said his son studied at DeVry Institute of Technology, a Chicago-based school that offers bachelor's and associate's degrees in information systems, telecommunications management and accounting. The father said he pushed his son to get a master's degree, but the son did not want to pursue his education. CAPTION(S): 4 Photos PHOTO (1) Larry Eugene Phillips Jr. Robber gunned down Friday (2) Nicolescu (3) Matasareanu (4 -- color) Crowds came Sunday to peer at the crime scene, where a slain gunman's imprint was visible. Tina Gerson/Daily News |
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