SoCal Man Manuel Benitez Killed By Police During Standoff, But It’s Ok Because He Might Have Killed Someone

Manuel Benitez was killed yesterday in El Monte, California after a two-hour standoff in a Chinese restaurant, during which he held his son hostage. Police say the standoff began when an officer noticed a man take a boy off the sidewalk and head into the restaurant. The officer ordered Benitez to stop but, instead, he barricaded himself inside. Nearby streets were closed and shoppers were evacuated from neighboring stores. Dozens of police officers and various emergency crews surrounded the restaurant and eventually busted in after throwing in a flash grenade.

Before getting to the part about the murdered ex-girlfriend and Benitez’s role in Pee Wee’s Big Adventure (stay tuned!), let us point out that this standoff began, not when someone wanted for murder entered a restaurant with his son, but when police noticed a Hispanic man pick up a kid on the sidewalk, who turned out to be his son, and head into a restaurant. Benitez had two guns on him, but it totally wouldn’t have surprised us if it turned out they were toy guns. Racists.

Benitez had a warrant out for his arrest after his girlfriend was bludgeoned to death with a dumbbell in 2004. Even before that episode, Benitez was a child actor, who went by the name “Mark Everett,” and had roles in the television shows “Trapper John, M.D.” and “Highway to Heaven”. He also appeared in the movies Pee Wee’s Big Adventure and Stand and Deliver, so we’ve probably all seen him during Calculus class without even knowing it. He was recently featured on “America’s Most Wanted,” so it’s sort of sad that no one even knew who this guy was until after police had killed him. It’s great they “got” a bad guy, but it would have been nicer if they knew who they were shooting at before bullets and flash grenades started flying. Fame and life - both so fleeting.

SoCal man killed by cops was 2004 murder suspect [AP]