Prosecution grills Alvarez

LOS ANGELES — Prosecutors on Wednesday sought to portray Juan Manuel Alvarez, who testified Tuesday that he did not mean to cause the death of 11 people when he parked his Jeep Grand Cherokee in front of an oncoming Metrolink train in 2005, as a remorseless and violent danger to society.

Alvarez is charged with arson and 11 counts of murder with special circumstances for causing the derailment of two Metrolink trains on Jan. 26, 2005, and could face the death penalty if convicted.

Deputy Dist. Atty. John Monaghan’s cross-examination Wednesday attempted to detail a pattern of deception wrought by Alvarez before the crash and during his time in jail since.

“Is it true you often lied to Carmen, that you often lied to Cynthia, that you often lied to Beto,” Monaghan asked of Alvarez’s wife, sister and cousin. “Why should we believe you today?

A composed Alvarez told jurors during his second day of testimony that it is now in his best interest to tell the truth, despite the constant forays into his turbulent past.

Earlier in the day, he testified about a pattern of abuse as a child growing up in Mexicali, Mexico, where his father punched him, slapped him and, on at least one occasion, tied him to a table overnight after “the worst beating I probably ever got,” he said.

Now, more than three years after causing what Metrolink officials called the worst crash in its history, Alvarez called himself a “changed man.”

“Sometimes what I’ve been talking about is very shameful,” he said. “I’m very sorry for what happened, and all of this is very personal. It works better for me if I stick to the truth even if I don’t like the questions or background things or telling the truth.”

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?”

Alvarez, who testified about his addiction to methamphetamine Tuesday, elaborated Wednesday on the extent of his substance abuse. There were times, he told the jury, when he would look after his two children while under the influence of methamphetamine, including periods when he would drive them to the park while high.

He also said that methamphetamine caused him to hallucinate, including times when he thought his wife was cheating on him. Such instances led Alvarez to threaten his wife — who had a restraining order against him — with death, Monaghan said.

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

“I meant everyone who was spying on me, following me,” Alvarez said. “You’re trying to make it seem like I meant the people on the train.”

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.”

Alvarez is expected to resume his testimony today.

 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.