L.A. Hostage-Taker Was Also Murder Suspect

A man shot and killed by police after holding his 7-year-old son hostage in a restaurant was wanted for the 2004 murder of his girlfriend, authorities said Wednesday.

Authorities had been seeking Manuel Benitez, 38, since the slaying of Stephanie Spears more than four years ago. The couple's son, Benjamin, had not been seen since Spears was beaten to death with a dumbbell, according to his fugitive profile on the FBI Web site.

The boy suffered a gunshot wound to the thigh in Tuesday's standoff but was expected to survive, said sheriff's Lt. Liam Gallagher.

Benitez was declared dead at the Chinese restaurant in an El Monte strip mall. Gallagher would not say who shot the boy.

Authorities negotiated with the man for about two hours before a flash-bang grenade exploded and gunshots fired inside the building. Those grenades are often used by SWAT teams to stun hostage takers given them enough time to subdue the kidnapper and free the captive without anyone being hurt, CBS Station KCBS in Los Angeles reports.
Gallagher would not say who shot the boy.

Police said Benitez, who wore a camouflage jacket and had two handguns, took the boy into a back room of the restaurant where he held him hostage.

The sheriff's statement said detectives are seeking the public's help in finding Benitez' mother, Elizabeth Velasco, who authorities believed may have been traveling with him.

Benitez was charged with murder and a California warrant was issued for his arrest in May 2005, the FBI Web site said. A federal warrant for unlawful flight to avoid prosecution was issued in March 2006. The FBI had offered a $20,000 reward for information leading to his arrest.

As a child actor going by the name Mark Everett, Benitez had small parts in the television shows "Highway to Heaven" and "Trapper John, MD," and the movies "Pee Wee's Big Adventure" and "Stand and Deliver," according to the FBI and The Internet Movie Database Web site.