LOS ANGELES - A troubled handyman charged with murder for allegedly causing a commuter train collision that left 11 people dead appeared in court for the first time Friday as his attorney warned a rush to judgment could poison the case.
"Emotions are running high right now and I'm sensing a mentality out there I almost want to call a lynch-mob mentality," attorney Eric Chase told reporters after a brief hearing in which an arraignment for the Juan Manuel Alvarez was delayed until Feb. 15.
"I'm hoping that that calms down a little bit in the days to come and the people who are making the decisions about Mr. Alvarez's life, about the death penalty in the case ... just take a step back and think about the consequences of their actions," Chase said.
Alvarez, 25, alleged to be a drug abuser and barred by a court from having contact with his wife, is charged with abandoning a sport utility vehicle on Metrolink rail tracks in Glendale early Wednesday in a botched suicide attempt. A Los Angeles-bound train rammed the empty vehicle, setting off a chain-reaction collision with a second train.
In addition to the deaths, nearly 200 people were injured. Most of those hospitalized were released, but at least 22 patients remained in six Los Angeles-area hospitals as of Friday. Three patients were listed in critical condition.
Prosecutors have not said if they will seek the death penalty if Alvarez is convicted.
The case "could possibly call for the death penalty. Our office has a well-established, very formal procedure in determining whether we ask for the death penalty in any case," said Deputy District Attorney Patrick Dixon.
Alvarez, his dark ponytail stretching down his back, was brought to court in a hospital smock, shackled and with bandages on his wrists. He suffered self-inflicted wounds by stabbing himself with a pair of scissors after the crash, and his attorney said his injuries include a collapsed lung.
Asked by a court commissioner if he agreed to the delay, Alvarez said in a soft voice, "Yes, sir." He said nothing else.
Alvarez was charged with 10 counts of murder before the discovery of an 11th body. An amended complaint filed Friday added the 11th count, as well as confirmed names of the victims.
The Glendale police chief described Alvarez earlier in the week as "deranged" and District Attorney Steve Cooley, whose prosecutors charged Alvarez, has said that being despondent was not a defense.
The allegations against Alvarez include a so-called special circumstance of murder by derailment, which could allow the death penalty if he is convicted.
Although Chase suggested prosecutors were moving too swiftly with charges, Jean Rosenbluth, a former federal prosecutor who teaches at the University of Southern California Law School, said the government appeared eager to make a blunt public statement about Alvarez's alleged conduct.
The charges were filed quickly but "the flip side of that is the prosecution ... meant to send a message. Metrolink has to do something to stop people from doing things like this," Rosenbluth said.
New information about Alvarez's alleged actions emerged Friday.
According to newspaper reports, after the crash he ran to the front porch of a nearby home and used scissors to stab himself and slash his wrists.
A woman in the house called 911, and Alvarez told paramedics what had happened as he was being rushed to a hospital. They radioed police, who arrested him.
The woman was his landlord, identified as Reyna Barcena, according to KNBC-TV.
"He had a pair of scissors and he was stabbing himself in the heart with it," she told the news station. "He was just totally full of blood. It was something very sad. He was mumbling that he caused many people to die. But I didn't understand. I didn't know what was happening. I had no idea."
At the crash site, wreckage was being readied for removal, and repair of rails and signals was expected to be complete by 9 p.m. Friday, allowing Union Pacific freights to resume runs, said Metrolink spokesman Steve Lantz. "We've got to get a bunch of UP freights out of the port," he said.
Metrolink passenger service was expected to resume Monday morning.
David Solow, chief executive of the Metrolink system said that a preliminary investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board indicated that all equipment on both commuter trains was "working as intended."
"The preliminary investigation by the NTSB given to us last night was that everything we did was right," he said.
"Our crew tried to get as many people to hold on," he said. "They did their jobs," he said.
The train that struck the SUV was being pushed from the rear by its locomotive while being operated at the leading end from a "cab-car." That configuration eliminates the need to switch the locomotive from end to end. But critics say always having a massive locomotive in front reduces the chance of derailment in such situations.
"Our position is that a cab car with a forward engine is a safe operation," Solow said, saying the practice was common throughout the United States and the world.
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Associated Press Writer Daisy Nguyen contributed to this report.
