Closing arguments begin in Metrolink case [L.A. 2005.. 11 killed]

Burbank Leader ^ | June 18, 2008 | Jeremy Oberstein

[La Enchiladita]

LOS ANGELES — Deputy Dist. Atty. John Monaghan told jurors during closing arguments Wednesday that Juan Manuel Alvarez never intended to commit suicide when he drove his SUV onto train tracks at Chevy Chase Drive, having instead perpetrated the 2005 Metrolink train derailment that killed 11 and injured more than 180 passengers as an attention-grabbing stunt.

Alvarez is charged with 11 counts of murder with special circumstances and one count each of arson and train wrecking for causing a Jan. 26, 2005, three-train crash when he drove his Jeep Cherokee onto the Metrolink tracks between Glendale and Los Angeles and doused his vehicle with gasoline.

He could face the death penalty if convicted. ...

[La Enchiladita]

I was not aware this trial is in progress. The incident seems so long ago, 3 years now. As I recall, much of the evidence was inconsistent with Alvarez's claim that this was a suicide attempt on his part.

[Steve Van Doorn]

i heard after they crashed he through up his arms like it was a victory sign.

[La Enchiladita]

Here we go. The story, as originally posted on FR, was an AP source so I won’t post the link here. But it can be found by a keyword search: ‘juanmanuelalvarez.’

Pinging some in that original discussion.

[Minutemen]

If I recall, wasn’t Mr. Alvarez also an undocumented turista?

[bcsco]

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[Guenevere]

Gee if that were true, wouldn't they have said so....~strong intense sarcasm

[La Enchiladita]

Yes, I believe it was determined he is here illegally, but this article doesn’t mention it either.

I haven’t heard or seen much about this trial in the news either. This was a mass murder and mayhem caused by one person and we hear almost nothing about it.

[Guenevere]

This is the first I've heard about it!

[La Enchiladita]

Same here, Guen. I don’t watch local news that much, but I do check in for weather reports and catch a few stories. I don’t think they have been covering this.

The FReepers seem to have lost interest also. This is why defense lawyers delay cases as much as possible.... short attention span of the public.

[La Enchiladita]

http://www.burbankleader.com/articles/2008/05/29/publicsafety/doc483e43d919047500604645.txt

(snip)
Monaghan pressed Alvarez on his remorse, asking the 29-year-old if he was also sorry for a slew of illegal activities he has been a part of behind bars, including extorting drugs and concocting jail-house alcohol.

Alvarez admitted to illegally making Pruno while in jail, an alcohol mix of rotten apples and orange juice, as well as profiting from the sale of drugs he sold behind bars and having razor blades in his cell.

Monaghan also told jurors about a pattern of intimidation before Alvarez was arrested.

“One day you were driving and a car in front of you stopped suddenly and you spilled some soup and you got out of car and confronted them with a knife,” Monaghan said. “Wouldn’t you call that dangerous?”

(snip)
Alvarez also reportedly told court-appointed psychiatrist Susan Dupee on March 13 that he was going to “kill Carmen [his wife] and everybody else,” Monaghan said.

(snip)
But his drug-addled behavior and abusive childhood did little to curry favor with train crash victims’ family members, one of whom said Alvarez should face the ultimate punishment.

“I can’t condone someone who killed 11 people,” said Tony Tutino, whose brother James Tutino died aboard one of the passenger trains. “I don’t buy his excuses, I don’t buy his apologies. There is no doubt in my mind that he deserves the death penalty for what he did.”