Defendant in Metrolink crash case is called ‘polite’

LOS ANGELES — The case against Juan Manuel Alvarez, accused of causing the deaths of 11 people after a Metrolink train plowed into his Jeep Cherokee in 2005, moved forward Thursday as a witness close to Alvarez portrayed him as respectful and well-mannered.

“Juan Alvarez always treated me with respect,” said Olga Perez, who took part in traditional Aztec dance rituals in Cypress with the 29-year-old Alvarez. “He was always very polite, very helpful. He would never joke around like some of the other kids would joke around and play.”

Perez met Alvarez in 1997, eight years before the deadly incident when Alvarez parked his Jeep Cherokee on the Metrolink tracks in the path on an oncoming commuter train, which upon impact left the tracks and smashed into a parked Union Pacific car and a northbound commuter train. Nearly 200 passengers on the two trains were injured. Alvarez faces 11 charges of murder and one count each of train wrecking and arson. He faces the death penalty if convicted.

In calling Perez, who referred to Alvarez once as “Juanito” and smiled in his direction when she first took the stand, defense attorneys appeared to be trying to humanize a client who is now inextricably linked with the 2005 disaster that Metrolink officials called the worst in the company’s history.

But Todd C. McKeown, whose brother died in the crash, called any effort to soften Alvarez’s image was a smoke screen meant to distract jurors from the deadly chain of events.

“Even the worst person in the world can be respectable,” he said. “It’s not about being respectable, it’s about what he did.”

Defense attorneys also called a slew of witnesses, including Alvarez’s former lawyer, who told the nine-woman, three-man jury that he had no knowledge that a rock, previously presented as evidence, had purportedly been cleaned.

At issue was a rock discovered near the scene of the crash that a defense expert said had soil cleaned from it without his knowledge.

On Monday, forensic scientist Bryan Burnett told the court that during his examination of the rock — which has a black ring on it that he said was left by a tire spinning in place — someone cleaned the rock, which was found in a pool of dirt and pebbles.

But Norman Kallen, who represented Alvarez from July 2006 to October 2007, said he never handled the rock and does not remember how it was packaged.

Clare Sassoon, a legal aide to defense attorney Thomas Kielty, told the jury that Burnett may have been confused by other rocks found near the scene.

“He asked about gravel that had been tested for gasoline,” Sassoon said of gravel that was recovered between the rails of the southbound track, which divides Glendale from Los Angeles.

The trial is scheduled to resume Tuesday, after the Memorial Day holiday, and Alvarez is scheduled to take the stand next week, officials said.

 JEREMY OBERSTEIN covers business, politics and the foothills. He may be reached at (818) 637-3215 or by e-mail at jeremy.oberstein@latimes.com.