Homeless Man Robbed, Burned

A homeless man keeping warm by a dumpster in which other transients were burning trash was seriously burned early today when muggers robbed him and threw him into the metal bin, Los Angeles police said.

Jeffrey Raub, 34, was listed in critical condition for nine hours after the 1 a.m. incident in an alley in the 2000 block of West 8th Street, but his condition was then upgraded to serious, officials at County-USC Medical Center said. Fire investigator James Thornton said Raub was standing with some other homeless men in the alley trying to keep warm when he was attacked by at least three men and thrown into the dumpster, where trash was burning.