Now a firefighter, The Sandlot's Michael Vitar charged with assaulting man passing out candy
Two Los Angeles firefighters — including a former child actor famous for playing Benny "The Jet" Rodriguez in The Sandlot — and a third man have found themselves in a big pickle.
The Los Angeles District Attorney's office said Tuesday that firefighters Michael Vitar, 36, and Eric Carpenter, 38, along with Thomas Molnar, 45, are facing charges they beat up a 22-year-old man on Halloween night. The felony complaint states that all three were at a party at Carpenter's house in northwest Los Angeles; Vitar — who in addition to starring in the 1993 classic also appeared in The Mighty Ducks and several commercials — and Carpenter were both off duty. They allegedly went after a man who was passing out candy to children in the street, and all three were arrested on assault charges; Carpenter is charged with inflicting great bodily injury.
Attorneys for Vitar and Molnar told NBC4 in Los Angeles that the charges should never have been filed, because the men were protecting neighborhood children. The 22-year-old was wearing a mask and costume and acting strange, the attorneys said, so Vitar, Carpenter, and Molnar confronted him. He couldn't explain why he was there, so the trio escorted him from the area, but he kept coming back. They eventually restrained him and notified the authorities, but at one point he lost consciousness, the attorneys said; Carpenter resuscitated him, and the man was taken away in an ambulance. In a statement, the Los Angeles Fire Department said the firefighters are on administrative leave with pay, pending the outcome of the case. Vitar, Molnar, and Carpenter are all out on bail, and scheduled to be arraigned Jan. 21.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
'Climate studies are increasingly becoming politicized'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Today's political cartoons - May 6, 2024
Cartoons Monday's cartoons - university encampments, Florida's abortion ban, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Boeing and NASA ready first crewed Starliner flight
Speed Read Two NASA astronauts are heading to the International Space Station
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Puffed rice and yoga: inside the collapsed tunnel where Indian workers await rescue
Speed Read Workers trapped in collapsed tunnel are suffering from dysentery and anxiety over their rescue
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
More than 2,000 dead following massive earthquake in Morocco
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Mexico's next president will almost certainly be its 1st female president
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
North Korea's Kim to visit Putin in eastern Russia to discuss arms sales for Ukraine war, U.S. says
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Gabon's military leader sworn in following coup in latest African uprising
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstances
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governor
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published