Former Child Actor Takes Boy Hostage

Authorities outside Los Angeles say a man who was shot and killed by police, after holding a 7-year-old boy hostage for two hours, was the boy's father.

By: WKRG Staff | WKRG-TV
Published: December 24, 2008

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LOS ANGELES (AP) - Authorities outside Los Angeles say a man who
was shot and killed by police, after holding a 7-year-old boy
hostage for two hours, was the boy's father.
The man has been identified as 38-year-old Manuel Benitez. He
was a suspect wanted for the 2004 slaying of his girlfriend.
El Monte police say the standoff began after a police officer
saw a man take a boy off the sidewalk and head into a Chinese
restaurant in a strip mall. Police say Benitez ignored the
officer's orders to stop and barricaded himself inside.
The standoff ended with Benitez shot dead by police and the boy
suffering a gunshot wound to the thigh. He's expected to survive.
The FBI's Web site says Benitez was once a child actor who went
by the name Mark Everett. As an actor, Benitez had small parts in
the TV shows "Highway to Heaven" and "Trapper John, M.D.," and
the movies "Pee Wee's Big Adventure" and "Stand and Deliver."

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)