Judge deems man fit to stand trial
A Pasadena Superior Court Judge ruled on Wednesday that a Glendale resident accused of killing a La Crescenta man in a freeway crash more than five years ago is fit to stand trial, court officials said.
Charles Bandaki, 55, pleaded not guilty to murder in 2000 after allegedly making a U-turn on the Foothill (210) Freeway and colliding with another car, killing 22-year-old Michael Sartinsky.
In 2001, he was sent to Patton State Hospital ? a mental-health facility in San Bernardino ? after a judge deemed him unfit for trial.
Since then, his competency to stand trial has been questioned.
But on Wednesday, Pasadena Superior Court Judge Leslie E. Brown deemed Bandaki mentally competent to stand trial and reinstated criminal proceedings in the case, court officials said.
A pretrial conference has been set for July 5.
Police to offer citizens' academy
The Glendale Police Department will hold its first Citizen's Police Academy this summer in an effort to improve communication between the department and the citizens it serves, said Russ Quan, a recruiter with the Glendale Police Department.
The 10-week academy will include weekly two-hour classes in which officers will lecture on various topics including narcotics, the department's SWAT team and terrorism, Glendale Police Officer John Balian said.
After the 10-week course, participants will graduate and receive a certificate of completion, he said.
Glendale's academy, which will be open to anyone who lives or works in Glendale and is 18 or older, begins on June 22.
It will be limited to 25 participants.
Those interested in applying cannot have ever had a felony conviction, and cannot have had a misdemeanor conviction within one year of the application date.
