In his defense, Juan provided the ticket stubs to prove his innocence but it was to no avail. The Bilingual Lover | Fandango . Waco: American Apocalypse Whatever Happened To Juan Catalan After His Exoneration? - Grunge.com She was even willing to produce the ticket stubs, and Juan was willing to take a lie-detector test, but prosecutors refused. Est muerta! the neighbors heard her cry from down the block. He was spared a death sentence because he and his lawyer, Todd Melnik, were able to prove that at the time the crime was committed Catalan was not at the murder scene but at Chavez-Ravine -- for a May 12, 2003, game between the Dodgers and Braves. Mario Catalan, the suspect's brother, was a co-defendant in that case. said, You're crazy. The show then follows how Todd's legal team then were allowed to scour hours of footage taken that night to try and find pictures to prove that Juan was part of the 56,000 crowd. Peps, as Ledesma was called in the gang, wasnt there. Juan Catalan was put on death row and spent nearly 6 months in jail for the murder of a teenage girl, until his lawyer found unused footage from HBO's "Curb Your Enthusiasm" that proved he'd been at a Dodger's game with his 6 year old daughter, on the night of the murder. Its contents remained unknown until January 2005, when during preparation for Ledesmas trial for Vargas slaying -- more than two years after the recording was made -- Spanish-speaking LAPD officers listened to it and learned of the order to kill the girl, Pinner testified. On the night of May 12, 2003, 16-year-old Martha Puebla was shot to death outside her home in Sun Valley, CA. That just destroys a person in there.My thought was, Am I gonna die in here? We are brought up to think that, you know, the policemen are there to protect us, so just knowing that theyre doing something that they shouldnt, that changes everything. Catalan is 42 years old and was born in 1990s, in Year Juan's case didn't come without further hurdles, but he was able to walk free in the end. Thus, this man fought the safe death penalty and the true culprits, four gang members, were captured and sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of Martha Puebla, the night of the first defeat of the 2003 season for pitcher Eric Gagne and the third home run by Mexican Vinicio Castilla. Youre not going to be telling gang members Ms. In 2004, federal investigators got involved in the investigation into Pueblas killing as part of a larger case against the Vineland Boyz. And his defense attorney Todd Melnick discovered that cameras had been at the baseball ground to film an episode of the comedy Curb Your Enthusiasm called 'The Carpool Lane'. A phone number was listed in the log. Disclaimer | Nice and short and sweet and compelling. One of them got out of the car, walked up to the girl and killed her. Long Shot is a 2017 short documentary film about how Juan Catalan was arrested for a murder he did not commit. When Pinner and Rodriguez stepped into the interrogation room with Ledesma, they had little real information to work with. Questioned by Mexican authorities, the woman told them that Ledesma and Catalan were wanted in Los Angeles for murder. Just watched it based on this referral. Signing up helps us (not Zuckerberg) stay in direct contact with you and create the best horror website possible. ", "I went through about 20 minutes of tape, and I was beginning to get disheartened because I didn't see Juan in any of the tapes," remembered Melnick. Juan Catalan was put on death row and spent nearly 6 months in - reddit How much did Juan Catalan pay his lawyer? - TimesMojo Though Catalan could produce ticket stubs and offered to take a lie-detector test, real proof that he was in attendance was unavailable. He begged the girl for help and then died, his head slumped against the steering wheel. You may unsubscribe at any time. Great documentary on Netflix about this, they interview Larry David and everything. That's why it is told in the Netflix documentary "Long Shot," which Catalan and Melnik were in town to promote. But being arrested for murder months after the slayingand being threatened with either dying in jail or via capital punishmentwas a living nightmare for a man who insisted he was at Dodger Stadium watching his favorite sports team when the murder happened. Juan had no idea why he had been arrested. Also worth pointing out the lengths Juan's attorney went to to find this footage is pretty amazing. She recalls not being nervous at all for the audition, because she expected not to get the part. Four hours after her audition, she got the call. Following his exoneration, Juan Catalan received a $320,000 settlement from a lawsuit he filed against the City of Los Angeles and the Police force. Juan Catalan had filed a police misconduct suit against the city after spending nearly five months in jail for a crime he did not commit -- a point his lawyer proved after producing outtakes from the television show.Mar 8, 2007. Alarmed by the gunfire, Pueblas mother rushed outside. Despite the video evidence, the authorities claimed the time on the video was different from the time of the murder. Juan Catalan Who District Attorney "The experience I've had, the people I've met, the places I've gone, it's actually all come from this, which is something crazy to think about. . The Judge overseeing this case is ELAINE H PALMER. Pueblas girlfriend had told detectives that as the gunshots went off, Puebla had yelled, Its Peps! But Puebla denied it, telling Pinner, Rodriguez and two other detectives that she had only speculated that Ledesma may have been the shooter. However, since the tapes were time-stamped and located Juan at the stadium around 9PM and the murder didnt occur until around 10:30, the prosecutor wouldnt budge. No. From that small clue, Melnik got the help of the Dodgers' media relations department to find the production company that filmed at Dodger Stadium that day. Privacy | She was a reluctant and unhelpful witness, as she had been with Pinner and Rodriguez the morning of the shooting, telling the prosecutor that she had not seen the shooter. Puebla was apparently aware that she had been labeled a snitch. I need to place my client at Dodger Stadium on that night. "Once your freedom gets taken away," Catalan said, "you really recognize how lucky we are to be American citizens. "I mean, if that's not a miracle, I don't know what is. "I pointed at the screen and said, 'That's him right there! Well, she knows you, the detective said. The day the detectives arrested Juan Catalan, they thought they had the right man. View the profiles of people named Juan Catalan. Since the day I was arrested, I just felt like I was being framed. TIL Juan Catalan Spent nearly 6 months in jail for the murder - reddit After his release, he described to a reporter the mental torture of being innocently jailed for murder: I felt like I didnt sleep for six months, because there was just so many, so much going on.l mean, Id never seen so many people just, you know, beaten, you know? Thats why we started Creepy Catalog in 2015 as a place for creepy content and creepy people to congregate. Catalans lawyer also tried to prove that he was actually at the game by looking through television footage of the game which again was not a piece of strong evidence especially because Catalan was not seen in the video. Pinner told Ledesma he knew the gang member had been on his way to Martha Pueblas house to visit her the night Vargas was killed outside her house. Shes dead!. Why Juan forgives the police who set him up for murder - 9Now But finally, Melnik was able to locate a phone call between Juan and his girlfriend that pinged right near Dodger Stadium at a time where it would have been physically impossible for Juan to reach the crime scene in time to commit the murder. The 40-minute film tells the surprising story of how a baseball game and a Curb . Jenya Lano: What Are The Interesting Details To Know About The Actress? But despite providing his ticket stubs, police weren't convinced of his innoncence and proceeded with proseucting him, which if he had been convicted, could have seen him face the death penalty. And eventually they found proof of Juan walking his young daughter to their seats inside the stadium. Even his daughter had to testify in court, assuring that after the game they stayed to buy baseball cards. Unlike his brother, Catalan was a law-abiding citizen and doting father. The events leading to Martha Pueblas slaying began five months earlier outside her bedroom window. You got the wrong person, buddy, Ledesma said. Curb Your Enthusiasm: 15 Little Tidbits From Behind The Scenes It was a game that would end up saving his life. Juan Catalan sat in jail for five months awaiting trial until his lawyer turned up video footage showing Catalan was at a Dodgers game at the time of the shooting. The Long Shot is available to view now on Netflix. "It is in their manual that they are supposed to check out an alibi or a defense.". Get up to speed with our Essential California newsletter, sent six days a week. Catalan and his girlfriend had gotten into a fight. Juan Catalan: Saved From Crooked Cops and Lying Prosecutor by Larry David fran rooks Feb 22, 2023 11:27 AM EST Juan Catalan was accused of murdering a teenage girl even though he was at a Dodger game with his daughter the same night. . After early interviews, suspicion fell quickly on Jose Ledesma, a member of the Vineland Boyz -- a notorious, violent gang that controlled much of the drug sales on the streets of Sun Valley. 15 Types, Know All About Dramatic Character of Mia Benitez played by Sohvi Rodriguez, Know All About Ex Wife of Dave Portnoy -Renee Portnoy? It was such a bad experience, and to have all this good come out, I just feel blessed. It was an extraordinary denial of justice, but the police were convinced Juan was . That is why I keep my Google Location History active - not fool proof, but I am on the phone nearly all the time and can "triangulate" my calls and the location of my phone to establish almost always where I was at any given moment. She is currently assigned to the Major Crimes Division where she vertically prosecutes high-profile, complex homicides. All About Second Oldest Paper in Texas- Victoria Story of 200 Old Journalism-Newark Advocate, A Complete Biography of German Goalkeeper Bernd Leno. Homicide Detectives Pinner and Rodriquez eventually admitted they set Juan Catalan up to solve the case. Catalan did have a motive for the execution-style killing of 16-year-old Martha Puebla, as she was a witness in his brother's trial for murder.