Sun Valley : Father Sentenced in Child Endangerment

A Sun Valley man has been ordered to take parenting classes and serve 160 hours of community service after pleading no contest Wednesday to leaving his stepson and 16-month-old daughter inside a parked car that caught on fire.

Manuel Banda, 27, was charged with two misdemeanor counts of child endangering for the May 15 incident in the parking lot of the Tresierras Market in Sun Valley. Each charge carries a maximum penalty of a $1,000 fine and a year in jail.

Banda had driven his 1978 Chevrolet Monte Carlo to the Saticoy Street market to buy a money order, according to police. He allegedly left the children unattended and, while he was inside the market, an electrical fire started in the car.

A Tresierras Market employee collecting shopping carts in the parking lot noticed the flames and ran back into the store. Banda was alerted to the blaze by an announcement over the market’s public-address system and pulled the children from the smoke-filled car with the help of a market employee, who had a fire extinguisher.

Banda’s 16-month-old daughter, Alejandrina, and stepson, Christian Ramirez, 3 1/2, both suffered burns to their faces and severe smoke inhalation. They were taken by helicopter to Childrens Hospital Los Angeles for treatment and have recovered.

Los Angeles Fire Department investigators said the fire began under the dashboard, behind the radio and air-conditioner controls. They found scorched wiring that had been cut and left in place after an unknown piece of equipment had been removed.