Since then, his competency to stand trial has been questioned.
On Wednesday, public defender Monnica Thelen told Pasadena Superior Court Judge Leslie E. Brown that the third doctor asked to evaluate Bandaki's mental competency has found him fit for trial.
Now, all three doctors who have evaluated Bandaki say he is fit for trial, Thelen said.
Bandaki will appear in court on June 7, when Brown is expected to make a final decision on whether he will stand trial.
Bandaki is charged with one count of murder and one count of leaving the scene of an accident in connection with an early-morning collision that killed 22-year-old Michael Sartinsky.
Bandaki allegedly made a U-turn on the freeway in Pasadena near the Lincoln Avenue exit at about 2:20 a.m. on Aug. 29, 2000, and was traveling eastbound in westbound lanes when he allegedly collided with Sartinsky's car head-on.
After hitting Sartinsky's car, and despite serious injuries, Bandaki allegedly tried to flee the scene but was apprehended shortly after by police, officials said.
Since 2001, the competency issue has suspended criminal proceedings and drawn things out, said La Cañada Flintridge resident Allan Roughton, a friend of the Sartinsky family.
"We are cautiously optimistic about moving forward," he said.
"I say cautious, because things have happened in the past where we felt like things were moving forward and then something happened."
The delay has been long, but it's been justified, Thelen said. "He goes in and out of competency," she said.
"He had severe injuries to his head. He is on medication and sometimes he's better than he is on other times?. His health is precarious, and so we can never say for sure what's going to happen."
Wednesday's proceedings were positive, said John Sartinsky, Michael Sartinsky's father. "We are getting closer," he said.
John Sartinsky has attended all but one court proceeding since the case began nearly six years ago.
"My attitude is, let's wait and see, that's all I can say," John Sartinsky said.
"I don't care if he is found competent or incompetent, just so as they keep him locked up."
