LA Firefighter Who Choked Man Giving Out Halloween Candy Avoids Jail In Controversial Plea Deal

LOS ANGELES, CA — A Los Angeles firefighter who took a plea deal in a felony assault case for nearly choking to death a 24-year-old graduate student was sued Thursday by his victim.

The six-minute attack that seriously injured Samuel Chang, then 23, happened on Halloween night in 2015 on a Chatsworth street where the 40-year-old off-duty Los Angeles firefighter Eric Carpenter lived. For reasons unknown, Carpenter and several others suspected Chang of attempting to give drug-laced candy to children. Chang's Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit alleges assault, battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, false imprisonment and negligence. Other named defendants are another Los Angeles firefighter, Michael Anthony Vitar, Thomas Molnar, Eugene Elbert and Michael Cirlin. The suit alleges all of the defendants chased Chang and tackled him to the ground under the mistaken impression Chang was handing out drug-laced candy to children.

Vitar is a former child star who had a role in the baseball film "The Sandlot."

The suit seeks unspecified damages.

Chang, a UC Santa Barbara graduate student, went to his grandmother's Chatsworth residence that night so he could pass out candy when a group of men led by Carpenter demanded to know why he was in their neighborhood. They asked Chang if the candy he was passing out was laced with drugs, according to an affidavit submitted by detectives of the Los Angeles Police Department's Robbery-Homicide Division, which investigated the case.

Chang denied trying to harm children and pulled out his phone to record the confrontation. In the videos, Chang asks the men why they are following him and runs away as he begs onlookers to call police.

Additional video clips show Chang trapped against the asphalt as a man identified in the LAPD affidavit as Carpenter has his forearm on Chang's throat while the other men can be seen pinning Chang's legs to the ground. One video shows Chang in some variation of a chokehold for roughly six-and-a-half minutes.

“Stop! Stop! Please! I want to go home,” he rasps underneath the pressure of the chokehold.

"Stop resisting. Relax. We’ve called the police for our protection and for yours," Carpenter tells him.

"And our kids," a woman off camera shouts.

The men holding Chang down call police, claiming he is combative, is on drugs and has a weapon. However, in the video he appears to be laying face down, with three men on top of him and with Carpenter's arm around his neck.

"Want to go home," Chang mumbles in a barely audible voice.

"Stop Resisting. Stop fighting. We feel unsafe. Stop fighting us. Stop reaching for weapons," Carpenter says. "Why did you offer our kids drug-laced candy?"

As Carpenter loosens his choke hold, one of the men attempts to question Chang.

"Hey, dude, are you ready to talk now? Hey, are you ready to talk," he asks. "What's your name?"

When Chang doesn't respond, the man checks his pulse. "He ain't breathing," he says, immediately initiating CPR.

According to court records, Chang suffered a series of injuries, including kidney failure and severe head trauma.

"When defendants finally called 911, they lied to the police by saying that plaintiff was on PCP," the suit alleges.

The defendants also falsely told police that Chang was armed, according to the complaint.

Hospital tests showed Chang "was indeed near death," the suit states. He was hospitalized for two weeks, part of that time in intensive care, according to the lawsuit.

Carpenter and Vitar were suspended by the Fire Department without pay for six months because of their conduct, the suit states. The two firefighters have since returned to full duty.

Although a probation report recommended Carpenter serve at least a year in jail, he pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor assault charge in May and was sentenced to three years probation and 135 days of community service, records show.

Vitar and Thomas Molnar, a Carpenter neighbor, pleaded no contest to misdemeanor battery in December. They received three years probation and 90 days of community service, according to court records.

Chang's attorney claims Carpenter received special treatment because his lawyer, Michael Goldstein, has a relationship with District Attorney Jackie Lacey, serving as her campaign finance director when she was first elected in 2012.

Goldstein denies the claim.

In a statement released to Patch, the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office defended the plea deal.

"The victim walked away, but returned a second time and approached the children. He was again asked to leave the property and, when he did not comply, was chased by the defendants down the block. The victim then ran toward the children a third time where he was then assaulted by the defendants when they took him to the ground and held him there as they waited for the police to arrive. Though the victim was rendered unconscious during the assault, he did not sustain permanent neurological injuries, according to the victim’s physician.

"In accordance with office policy, the defense attorney requested and was given a meeting with the Special Operations chain of command, at which time the defense attorney offered and later provided additional evidence to the prosecution. That evidence included additional witness statements and video of the incident. Prosecutors followed office policy in taking the meeting. The defense attorney received the same treatment available to any other defense attorney. His relationship with the District Attorney had absolutely nothing to do with the resolution of this case.

"The District Attorney’s Office does not condone the actions of the defendants. The injuries sustained by the victim, although unintended, were nevertheless unlawful.

While some advocated for harsher sentences, the District Attorney’s Office did not believe a jury would find the defendants guilty of felony conduct given the facts of the case and, in accordance with office policy, reduced the original felony charges."