Here's an odd twist in the People vs. Alvarez. As he's scheduled to come to trial in the next month for allegedly intentionally derailing the Metrolink 100 as it made its way downtown on Jan. 26, 2005, Juan Manuel Alvarez isn't doing so well.

The Glendale News-Press broke the story on Friday. Rather than showing up for the hearing, Alvarez camped out in his cell and refused to show up.

We don’t know why he’s not here,” attorney Michael Belter told the paper. “He reports to us that he has had some problems upon his return. His cell has been tossed, sometimes his blankets have been soaked. In his mind, he feels it’s better for him to stay in his cell.”

I've got an e-mail into Tom Kielty, Belter's co-counsel, asking for some more details, so we'll see if he cares to chat. According to the story, Belter says Alvarez has been on suicide watch and spent additional time in the jail's mental clinic. Given the circumstances of his arrest, an alleged suicide attempt that killed 11 innocent people in the process, I suppose it's not surprising that he's still got some issues, but this one still caught me off guard. Stay tuned for more... .