Mike Vitar, a firefighter who played the role of Benny “The Jet” Rodriguez in the film, and fellow firefighter Eric Carpenter and another man, Thomas Molnar, are charged with assault, according to a felony complaint.
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Two off-duty L.A. firefighters-one of whom starred in The Sandlot as a youth-and another man have all been charged with attacking a 22-year-old man on Halloween.
The guy who played Benny “The Jet” Rodriguez in “The Sandlot” is now facing serious prison time… after getting charged in a Halloween night beatdown.
Vitar was featured in a 2011 LA Weekly article that said he joined the fire department in Hollywood in 2002 after having spent his childhood working as an actor. In addition to assault, Carpenter is charged with personally inflicting great bodily injury, prosecutors said.
Carpenter, an L.A. city firefighter, was hosting a Halloween party on October 31 attended by Vitar, another off-duty firefighter, and Molnar, a neighbor. The three men became enraged when they spotted a 22-year-old man-whose grandmother lived in the area-handing out candy to children as he walked around the neighborhood.
The men saw the victim handing out the candy then allegedly chased him down and jumped him before Carpenter allegedly choked him, according to the district attorney’s office. According to LAFD, Carpenter and Vitar have both been placed on paid leave. If convicted, Carpenter faces up to seven years in state prison, while Vitar and Molnar face up to four years each in state prison.
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The three are scheduled to appear in court on January 21, 2016. The investigation was conducted by the Los Angeles Police Department’s Robbery/Homicide Division.
