Judge frees man that stabbed woman last month with time served

Norwalk-  A 45 year-old La Mirada man was ordered released from jail Wednesday after agreeing to make a plea of no contest to the lesser of two felony charges that were filed after a stabbing incident at a condo near Creek Park on April 27.

Monish Bandodkar was arrested after deputies sent to investigate an incomplete 911 call at the Creek Park Condos at 12203 Santa Gertrudes Ave found a person with stab wounds in front of one of the condos on their arrival that occurred during a domestic dispute.

Bandodkar had a change of heart during the second day of a preliminary trial that would have determined if there was enough evidence to proceed to a criminal trial. 

The deal struck freed him from custody the same day included a 66-day sentence which with time credits worked out to an actual 33 days to be served which coincidentally just happened to be the same number of says Bandodkhar had already been in jail.

 The deal also came with three years of formal probation, no fine, and a more serious charge of assault with a deadly being dismissed.

One person suffered minor injuries and one arrest in violent La Mirada crash

A La Mirada News photo

La Mirada- One person was injured and a man was arrested as a result of a late Friday accident that stunned local residents by the extent of the wreckage that occurred on a residential street.

Deputies from La Mirada and four County Fire units rushed to Lemon Dr and Mayes Dr on the La Mirada/East Whittier border near Creek Park at about 11:54 p.m. after a 911 dispatcher received a report that a car had collided with a pole.

Extra, resources were sent by L.A. County Fire dispatchers in anticipation that there might be a physical cut and rescue needed and instead found on their arrival that the only pole that had been involved was a stop sign post. (This happens a lot, better safe than sorry)

After seeing the extent of the wreckage several bystanders commented that people involved were fortunate that just one person sustained minor injuries requiring hospitalization.

Speeding appears to be an obvious contributor to the accident after one of the drivers was overheard telling a family member that they had been doing 40 mph. (The speed limit is 25)  

Deputies arrested a man for suspicion of driving while under the influence of alcohol.  Witness statements leave open the possibility that factors in addition to DUI are also a factor into the cause of this accident which is still under investigation.

Several blocks of Lemon Dr were closed for about 90 minutes until the wreckage which included a third car that had been parked on the street could be cleared from the roadway.

After seeing the damage caused by the collision several nearby residents told La Mirada News that they troubled by the escalating traffic issues along Lemon Drive involving speeding cars and want action taken.

Three parked cars have been hit over the past year parked along a one-block stretch west of Mayes Drive including two that involving hit-and-run drivers.  CHP arrested one of the drivers after a witness followed home to a home nearby on Scott Ave.

A traffic study commissioned by the city several years ago rejected the suggestion that speed was an issue on the street, determining there were no safety issues of concern on Lemon Drive.

La Mirada News photos

Chick-Fil-A: Anxiously awaited, Finally arrived

The La Mirada Chick-Fil-A on the eve of their
Grand Opening Weds May22 

La Mirada-  The waiting is finally over.  With all the expected hype, promotion, pizazz one expects, and yes the food giveaway campout, La Mirada has joined the ranks of the have's and away from the have nots' at 6:00 a.m. this morning, May 23rd when the newest Chick-Fil-A opened its doors for business.

The restaurant is located across from the Holiday Inn next to the northbound I-5 Freeway Valley View exit ramp on Firestone Blvd North next to Northwoods on the site of the former Elephant Bar.

The eatery has built a remarkable cult-like following with their grand opening food giveaway promotions and La Mirada was no exception.

A 12-hour campout was held from 6 p.m. last night with 100 successful campers being treated to a free chicken sandwich meal each week for 52 weeks.

They must be off to a good start because and too busy to respond to a La Mirada News inquiry regarding how many campers made it through the night.

Meet the man, well one of them anyway, that has been breaking into cars overnight

La Mirada News has been reviewing a series of video taken by homeowners of the Ring security system and are able to attribute a series of thefts from unlocked vehicles to at least two men early this morning.

A Toyota pickup driven by our suspects can be seen in this first video after a motion sensor detected movement near a home near the second video in East Whittier in the area of Homeland Dr and Garydale Dr.  The second video taken seven minutes later in the same immediate area is the clearest video so far of the suspect and the truck he drives.

https://neighbors.ring.com/n/696Ao


https://neighbors.ring.com/n/GGyV0

It appears the suspects eventually head west which makes appears to implicate them in a vehicle break-in near Stamy Rd and Midcrest Dr.

At 3:20 a.m. it appears they are now further west into South Whittier near Archway Dr and Mulberry Dr (one block west of La Mirada Blvd) rattling doors in hopes of finding a car unlocked. 

As the suspect leaves the driveway and is behind the car you can see a quick image of a second person crossing his path and appears to be an accomplice. 

https://neighbors.ring.com/n/0D701

11 minutes later we can see the man from 2;47 a.m. clearly in the final video after having just broken into a vehicle near Archway Dr and Anola St as he leaves the car he just pillaged.

https://neighbors.ring.com/n/Pqm0v

The truck appears to be an older-model Toyota pickup with an Xtra cab and is either a light gray, silver, or champagne color.

I welcome your remarks, opinions, or observations.

Felony charges filed in La Mirada domestic violence stabing

Prosecutors filed two felony charges in court this week against a local man in connection with the stabbing incident last weekend at a La Mirada townhome in the 12200 block of Santa Gertrudes.

Monish Bandodkar, 45, was arrested after deputies responded to an incomplete 911 call on Saturday about 12:45 p.m. and found a victim that had been stabbed in front of the home. 

The victim told deputies that suspect was a boyfriend and was still inside the home. After deputies surrounded the home, Bandodkar surrendered to deputies after making a loudspeaker announcement to exit the home was made without further incident.

Bandodkar entered a plea of not guilty Tuesday on charges of assault with a deadly weapon, and of causing traumatic injury to a spouse or cohabitant and will appear again in court to be arraigned at Norwalk Superior Court on May 14.  

Bandodkar is being held at Men's Central Jail in Downtown Los Angeles with bail set at $100,000.

The injuries to the victim were not life-threatening.