Briefly In Public Safety

Burroughs High student assaulted

A 17-year-old John Burroughs High School senior was punched several times Wednesday afternoon by three unknown men, police said.

The alleged victim, whose name has not been released because of his age, was walking east on Verdugo near Frederic Street when three “young adults jumped out of a car and punched him in the head and face several times,” Burbank Sgt. Travis Irving said.

The incident was not gang-related and the student said he did not know the identity of his attackers, he said.

He received minor injuries and was treated at the scene.

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Jury pool shrinking in train-crash case

A Los Angeles Superior Court judge excused more than 30 jurors Thursday and allowed about 100 photographs to be shown as evidence for the upcoming trial of 29-year-old Juan Manuel Alvarez, who faces capital murder charges for allegedly causing a 2005 Metrolink derailment that killed 11 and left nearly 200 people injured.

Judge William R. Pounders released the jurors for a variety of reasons, including economic and medical, in a continued effort to find 16 jurors acceptable to the defense and prosecution, defense attorney Michael Belter said.

Pounders also admitted 111 photos into evidence to be used in the trial and threw out about a dozen that he deemed unnecessary and redundant, Belter said.

The photos showed where some victims died, injuries suffered by passengers and pictures of autopsied bodies.

On Monday, attorneys for both sides plan to question 65 possible jurors, a process that will be repeated Thursday and April 21.