Michael Anthony Vitar (born December 21, 1978) is an American firefighter and former actor who appeared as Benjamin Franklin "Benny the Jet" Rodriguez in ''

The Sandlot ''The Sandlot'' (released in some countries as ''The Sandlot Kids'') is a 1993 American coming-of-age sports comedy film co-written, directed, and narrated by David Mickey Evans. It tells the story of a group of young baseball players during the s ...

'' and Luis Mendoza in the final two '' Mighty Ducks'' films. He started acting at the age of 12 when a casting manager spotted him in line for a ride at a school carnival. He retired from acting after 1997. He has two older siblings. His older brother, Pablo, played the older version of his character, Benny, in ''The Sandlot'', after which he joined the

Los Angeles Police Department The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), officially known as the City of Los Angeles Police Department, is the municipal police department of Los Angeles, California. With 9,974 police officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the third-large ...

in 1996. Pablo died due to colon cancer on January 29, 2008. He also has an older sister, Elizabeth. He attended St. Francis High School in

La Cañada, California LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figur ...

, from which he graduated in 1997. Starting in 1996, he worked for Gerber Ambulance in Torrance as an EMT, from which he moved into his career as a firefighter. Since 2002 he has been a firefighter for the

Los Angeles Fire Department The Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD or LA City Fire) provides emergency medical services, Fire investigation, fire cause determination, fire prevention, Firefighting, fire suppression, Dangerous goods, hazardous materials mitigation, and Resc ...

. He currently resides in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

Filmography

*''

The Sandlot 2 ''The Sandlot 2'' (also known as ''The Sandlot 2: The Sandlot Continues'' and ''The Sandlot Kids 2'' in some territories) is a 2005 American sports comedy film directed and narrated by David Mickey Evans. It is a direct-to-DVD sequel to '' The Sa ...

'' (2005) - Benjamin Franklin "The Jet" Rodriguez, Flashback scene *'' Chicago Hope'' (1 episode, 1997) – Carlos Lunes *'' D3: The Mighty Ducks'' (1996) – Luis Mendoza *'' NYPD Blue'' (1996) – Teenager *'' D2: The Mighty Ducks'' (1994) – Luis Mendoza *''

'' (1993) – Benjamin Franklin "Benny the Jet" Rodriguez *'' Sunset Grill'' (1993) – Luis *'' Brooklyn Bridge'' (1 episode, 1991) – Anthony Gambuzza *''

Diplomatic Immunity Diplomatic immunity is a principle of international law by which certain foreign government officials are recognized as having legal immunity from the jurisdiction of another country.

'' (1991/I) – Arturo

Legal troubles

On October 31, 2015, Vitar and two other firefighters confronted 22-year-old Samuel Chang, who was handing out candy in their neighborhood to trick-or-treaters. They wrongly accused him of handing out drug-laced candy, and then chased Chang, until catching him and pinning him to the ground. Vitar and another firefighter helped pin Chang to the ground, while another held him in a chokehold until Chang fell unconscious. They performed

CPR Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is an emergency procedure consisting of chest compressions often combined with artificial ventilation in an effort to manually preserve intact brain function until further measures are taken to restore sponta ...

until paramedics arrived, and Chang was hospitalized for weeks. Vitar and the others were charged with felony assault. Against the will of the Chang family, Vitar was allowed to plea

no contest ' is a legal term that comes from the Latin phrase for "I do not wish to contend". It is also referred to as a plea of no contest or no defense. In criminal trials in certain United States jurisdictions, it is a plea where the defendant neith ...

to a reduced charge of misdemeanor battery, and was suspended without pay for six months. He has since returned to full duty.

References

External links

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Vitar
at Yahoo Movies {{DEFAULTSORT:Vitar, Mike 1978 births American people of Cuban descent Hispanic and Latino American male actors American male film actors American male child actors Living people American firefighters Male actors from Los Angeles