Two Los Angeles city firefighters, including the star of a popular 1993 youth comedy film, were charged Tuesday for allegedly attacking a man on Halloween.
Eric Carpenter and Michael Anthony Vitar were off-duty Halloween night when the two became suspicious of man who was handing out candy. According to their attorneys, the man appeared to be on drugs and did not retreat when the firefighters told him to leave the kids alone. Prosecutors say that’s when Carpenter, Vitar and a friend chased the man down and began choking him. He passed out and had to be treated at a local hospital.
The story is made all the more bizarre by a Hollywood twist. Vitar, now 36, once starred as Benny “The Jet” Rodriguez in the popular coming-of-age baseball film, “The Sandlot.”
Carpenter now faces 7 years in prison. Vitar and the other assailant could each get 4 years. Both firefighters have been placed on paid leave pending the investigation.
Read more about the allegations here.
Image Credit: Flickr User susivinh, https://flic.kr/p/zftLyv via (CC BY-ND 2.0)