Silverman has been a Deputy District Attorney since 1994 in the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office. Prior to his current assignment, Rubin covered federal courts and agencies, the Los Angeles Police Department and the regions public schools. On the night of May 12, 2003, 16-year-old Martha Puebla was shot to death outside her home in Sun Valley, CA. Even his daughter had to testify in court, assuring that after the game they stayed to buy baseball cards. and a detective with the LAPDs Robbery-Homicide Division. Catalan told Melnik he was at Dodger Stadium watching a baseball game with his seven-year-old daughter Melissa the night of the murder. . ", "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. Despite the eyewitness, and despite the alleged motive of taking out revenge against someone who had testified aginst his brother, Melnik believed Juan when he insisted he was innocent. "And then, all of a sudden, there he was!". But when a police supervisor learned the young girls name, he called Pinner. Following the advice of Judge Dunn, the Judge that set him free, he earned an associate degree in general education and later applied to California State University, Northridge to earn a bachelors in business administration degree. Was Seargeoh Stallone Suffering From Autism? She said she had not seen much of anything at all. To inquire about a licence to reproduce material, visit our Syndication site. Catalan and his girlfriend had gotten into a fight. News Group Newspapers Limited in England No. Key Factors You Need to Know to Overcome the Recession -2023. Four hours after her audition, she got the call. Uh huh, like that, Ledesma told Covarrubias, using a mix of Spanish and English. The ruse, as Pinner would later call it in court, was a legal move. He was subsequently freed. The timecode on the Curb Your Enthusiasm vision read 9.09pm, and the murder happened at 10.40pm - an hour and a half later. Cokester, he said into the receiver, calling his friend Javier Covarrubias by one of his gang monikers, do you know the slut that lives there by . In 2004, Catalan told ABC's Brian Rooney how amazed he was at the events that led to his vindication. Bio, Best Films, Dating, Parents. Ledesma insisted he did not know her. . Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. The documentary Long Shot, available on Netflix, tells the story of Juan Ignacio Cataln, a man with a troublesome life during his youth, who, because he was with the wrong people, at a bad time, was about to be sentenced to death, had it not been for that game that the Los Angeles Dodgers lost 11-4 to the Atlanta Braves and a cheap comedy shoot. You're never going to find your client on a tape., And on the, probably the fifth tape I think it was, Juan walked right into the camera shot, and the rest is history, as they say.. After dancing with death, Juan was a free man. Only days before her murder, she had testified against young Mario Catalan involving a gang slaying in which Mario was charged as an accessory. 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. Est muerta! the neighbors heard her cry from down the block. The case status is Pending - Other Pending. He mocked and swore at Pinner, repeatedly denying any role in the killings. 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. His girlfriend Alma was driving. Pinner is still a police officer to this day. . One of them got out of the car, walked up to the girl and killed her. Dont worry, you can unsubscribe any time you like. "As a kid, I watched Fernando Valenzuela pitch," he said. This documentary came out in 2017, 14 years after what happened. Returning to the scene of Pueblas murder, Bartlett reveals that she was shot on the street while talking to her friend, who panicked before running away. The prosecutor acknowledged that he did not attend the meeting, which occurred about five months after detectives had given Pueblas name to Ledesma. said, You're crazy. The photo six-pack was a complete fake. ", Melnick persuaded the producers to let him look at the episode "Carpool Lane" and its outtakes. Sure enough, there was a shot of Catalan and his daughter returning to their row after getting some snacks at the concession stand. Until the same tracking pins you near a crime scene making you a suspect. By nightfall, the suspects had been hauled back to LAPDs North Hollywood station for booking. Juan Catalan with wife Alma. "My life has changed immensely and for the better," Catalan said. Catalan and Melnik are "best friends" now. He also went ahead to focus on his education by earning an associate degree in general education. 679215 Registered office: 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF. "The Sun", "Sun", "Sun Online" are registered trademarks or trade names of News Group Newspapers Limited. Interrogation rooms, experts say, are freewheeling places. A few years after the settlement, Neflix produced a short documentary about Juans case titled Long Shot It notes that if Juan had merely gone home that night and hadnt attended the game and been filmed by HBO, he might be on Death Row right now. What Juan Catalan endured at the hands of the Los Angeles police is no laughing matter, but it's comedy that saved him. Juan (Imanol Arias), the impoverished son of a Chinese magician, discovers that his aristocratic Catalan wife (Ornella Muti) has been cheating on him. a challenge in which an attorney has broad discretion in excusing jurors is known as a. Though Catalan could produce ticket stubs and offered to take a lie-detector test, real proof that he was in attendance was unavailable. They recovered a handgun that would eventually be matched to Vargas death and another killing that had happened the same week. In August 2003, the young father was targeted by ten undercover police officers and violently placed under arrest. Jenya Lano: What Are The Interesting Details To Know About The Actress? According to Innocence Project, approximately 20,000 people roughly 1% of the prison population arefalsely convicted of crimes. . In regards to the murder, four men were later arrested and found guilty. The detectives were told that he was hanging out with another Vineland Boyz member, Mario Catalan. As he await his trial for capital murder, Melnik was able to provide proof that his client was at a game using video footage of Larry Davids HBO comedy show, Curb Your Enthusiasm which captured Catalan at the Dodgers game. Scanning through the three hours of videotape from the game, Melnik was able to pinpoint where Catalan and his daughter were sitting, but the video resolution wasnt clear enough to definitively show in a court of law. Both Juan Rodrguez and Martn Pinner admitted that they tried to coerce a false confession out of Catalan. Juan Catalan was exonerated from a crime he did not commit after he and his lawyer, Todd Melnik found an unusual way of clearing his name. In 2007, Catalan received a $320,000 settlement from a lawsuit against the City of Los Angeles and its police force, and was the subject of a short Netflix documentary, "Long Shot," that examines his ordeal. Creepy Catalog is owned by the Thought and Expression Company, a small, independent media company. When Pinner and Rodriguez stepped into the interrogation room with Ledesma, they had little real information to work with. Where and How to Become Billionaire With Just $20 in Your Wallet !! To watch Out of Left Field in full, and for more on 60 Minutes, head to the, 'Frightening' attack on police before man shot dead in Sydney, Reports indicating Stalin was murdered hidden for decades, Extreme weather to hit nation with fire warnings then snow, WorldPride grand finale: Show of unity for history-making march, By Liz Little 60 Minutes Digital Producer. It also makes me value using a credit card for most purchases which are all time stamped and traced. Rodriguez read Ledesma his Miranda rights, and Pinner started grilling him. We also told you how Netflix is also making a documentary about the disapperance of Madeleine McCann. He asked to take a lie-detector test. A hidden microphone recorded what they said. Every Friday, we send out an email with the scariest horror movies and TV shows streaming that weekend along with creepy news, updates from the horror movie pipeline, and links to the best scary content on the web. In 2004, federal investigators got involved in the investigation into Pueblas killing as part of a larger case against the Vineland Boyz. Curtain of Life Fell for what a Feeling Star Irene Cara, Michael Latifi A Multi-talented Iranian-canadian Businessman, The Importance of Leveraging Competitive Intelligence for Your Business, 7 Benefits of Trademark Registration in India, Registering a Company in India- Eligibility and Procedure for Start-Up, Know All About Dramatic Character of Mia Benitez played by Sohvi Rodriguez. He was initially arrested in 2003 for the murder of 16-year-old Martha Puebla. Martha had earlier testified in a another gang-related murder . A TV show, Curb Your Enthusiasm, contains raw footage that was instrumental in proving his innocence. 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. Witnesses had signed their names. That's why it is told in the Netflix documentary "Long Shot," which Catalan and Melnik were in town to promote. It was an extraordinary denial of justice, but the police were convinced Juan was . But Juan Catalan said he was at a Los Angeles Dodgers baseball game -- not a drive-by shooting -- at the time of the murder . Reports say he still works at his fathers machine shop to support his family. This case was filed in Harris County District Courts, Harris County District Courts located in Harris, Texas. All About Second Oldest Paper in Texas- Victoria Story of 200 Old Journalism-Newark Advocate, A Complete Biography of German Goalkeeper Bernd Leno. Alarmed by the gunfire, Pueblas mother rushed outside. What your credit score starts at can be a deceptive question when asked directly. Stay on your toes, homie. "It is in their manual that they are supposed to check out an alibi or a defense.". And a detailed log the detectives kept of their investigation shows no indication that they had contact with Puebla or her parents after they used the girl to bait Ledesma during the interrogation. Detectives are not allowed to strike deals with suspects in exchange for a confession, and they are not allowed to threaten them with bodily harm. Cameras flashed. California AG's wife . Again, he was able to prove that his wife, Amla called him as he was leaving the stadium with his daughter at around 10:13 pm. The day the detectives arrested Juan Catalan, they thought they had the right man. 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. A fourth Vineland Boyz member who participated is thought to have fled to Mexico and is being sought, a federal prosecutor said. December 15, 2021. The prosecution argued that Catalan had enough time to drive home and commit the murder, so Melnik took a strategy from arguably the famous criminal case of all to defend his client. What Juan Catalan endured at the hands of the Los Angeles police is no laughing matter. It was a game that would end up saving his life. Eleven days before she was killed, Puebla testified at a preliminary hearing in Ledesmas murder trial. Roll that tape back! Is Wellness Tea More Beneficial Than It is Been Credited? Tonight on 60 Minutes reporter Liam Bartlett meets the victim of one of the great failures of the American justice system. Detectives lie frequently, typically telling a suspect that they have DNA evidence or video footage or witnesses. Juan remembered they may have been filming something there that day.We were in for an enormous fight. With his freedom back, Catalan has also not forgotten the show that helped him secure it. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Pinner told Catalan that people had seen him shoot the girl. With the presumption of innocence missing from the start, Catalan needed an alibi - his life quite literally depended on it. Juan Catalan was 24 when he was wrongly charged with gunning down 16-year-old Martha Puebla on her doorstep outside her home in Los Angeles. Disclaimer | We only haunt the willing. Not even "sorry." As the girls talked, gunshots suddenly filled the night air. According to Curb creator and star Larry David: The episode was that I picked up a hooker in the car pool lane and took her to Dodger Stadium.We shot in two sections in Dodger Stadium. Ledesma was growing agitated. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast, Press J to jump to the feed. I need to place my client at Dodger Stadium on that night. Right underneath my basketball hoop on the side of the street. Im gonna get you outta here. I gotta find the Holy Grail of Juans defense. 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'.
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