House fire causes extensive damage An Ontario...

House fire causes extensive damage

An Ontario Street fire on Aug. 20, which started in a travel

trailer and moved to a residence, may have been caused by an

unattended, lighted candle, fire officials said.

The fire started at 6:43 p.m., on the 1000 block of Ontario

Street, in a travel trailer, which was parked in a carport attached

to the home, said Burbank Fire Capt. Ron Bell.

While the cause of the fire is still being investigated, the man

living in the trailer at the time of the fire said he may have left a

candle inside, Bell said.

The fire, which spread from the trailer into the house, burning

the living room and kitchen, caused an estimated $60,000 in

structural damages and $10,000 in content damage, Bell said of the

house.

The trailer, estimated at $5,000, was a total loss. An additional

$1,000 is estimated in content damage, Bell said.

No one was in the trailer or the home at the time of the fire, he

said.

Court orders man accused of murder to stand trial

Manuel Banos, accused of the murder of his girlfriend, was ordered

held to answer at a preliminary hearing Tuesday on one count of

murder and two counts of burglary.

Banos will appear in Pasadena Superior Court on Sept. 7, where he

will enter a plea and his case will move on to trial.

Banos is being tried for the murder of his girlfriend, Burbank

resident Mary Ann Cortez, in April 2004.

On April 11, 2004, Banos allegedly fled from Cortez’s home, where

officers discovered her beaten and unconscious on the floor.

Cortez later died of her injuries on April 14.

Man dies in

traffic collision

A 64-year-old Burbank man died after being hit by a car Aug. 20 at

the intersection of Magnolia Boulevard and Orchard Drive, according

to the Los Angeles County Coroner’s office.

The accident happened just before midnight, said Burbank Det. Doug

Brown. David Doidge was crossing the roadway at the intersection when

he was struck by a 1997 Saturn SL2.

Doidge was transported to Providence St. Joseph Medical Center,

where he died an hour later, most likely of injuries sustained by the

hit, according to the Los Angeles County Coroner’s office.

The driver of the Saturn, Kathryn Gustafson, 38, of North

Hollywood, was not injured in the accident and was arrested on

suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol and suspicion of

vehicular manslaughter, Brown said.

The intersection was closed off for about three hours as police

investigated.

Police to conduct DUI traffic checkpoint

The Burbank Police Department Traffic Bureau will conduct a DUI

checkpoint on Saturday. Police have not announced the location of the

checkpoint. With the approach of the Labor Day holiday weekend the

Police Department hopes to reduce the number of drunken driving

accidents and continue to make the public more aware of the dangers

of driving under the influence, police said.

Burbank Police will work in cooperation with the California Office

of Traffic Safety and the National Highway Traffic Safety

Administration to conduct the checkpoint.