This story reveals ugly truths about the criminal justice system. This Larry David HBO series unknowingly captured the key to freeing Juan Catalan, a man who was on death row for a murder he did not commit. Juan Catalan: How Did An LA Dodgers Game Change His Life Drastically? Juan Catalan 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. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. According to ABC News, Catalan is now a "devoted fan" of the acclaimed comedy series. 9:26pm Sep 2, 2018 What Juan Catalan endured at the hands of the Los Angeles police is no laughing matter. The tombs had just been rocked by racial unrest after a murder inside, and Juan was actually afraid I would be killed.. By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. Soon after she was let go, Kirkpatrick claimed that the commission retaliated against her for trying to blow the whistle on allegedly illegal activities by its members. And dont get caught. (Dropping dimes means revealing information.). 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. Catalan's alibi was that he was at a Dodgers game with his 6-year-old daughter. The storyline of that episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm centered around David breaking the rules of the carpool lane in order to cut down on the amount of time it took him to get to the football game. . Read More:Did Deanna Burditt Marry Rick Harrison Because Of His Money? It turned out that comedian David had been shooting The Carpool Lane episode of Curb, in which he picks up a hooker so he can use the high-occupancy-vehicle lane to beat traffic to the Dodgers game. He just settled this one. The action you just performed triggered the security solution. In the end, the trace of a call proved the Mexican right. As he maintained his innocence under examination and served time in jail, a tenacious lawyer heard about the case through a mutual friend. Click to reveal Juan Catalan: How Did An LA Dodgers Game Change His Life Does Opening A Savings Account Affect Credit Score, Romel De Silva: Who is he? Im going to get you out of here, It is imperative that I locate Juans defenses Holy Grail. Yet despite the settlement, a Gofundme page organized by Melnik last March in support of Catalan says that Juan "still struggles today" financially, working in his father's machine shop to support his three children. He was suspected by police because the victim was the star witness against his brother two weeks before the murder, and an eyewitness to the murder said the killer was a youngish adult Latino man with a mustache (which also describes Juan). On the walk back to their seats, they were stopped by the members of a TV crew, who urged them not to disrupt the taping. A Belgian housewife has claimed to be Juan Carlos' daughter, alleging he had an affair with her mother, governess Liliane Sartiau, and a Spanish waiter Albert Sola claims he is his son. . As a devoted fan of the Los Angeles Dodgers, he was aware that the Canadian Eric Gagne, who served as the teams closer during the long-ago 2003 season, came perilously near to missing the diamond. He finally had a clean and clear alibi. Juan Catalan was involved in Grand Theft Auto, pushed by his older brother, for which he was arrested and marked with a criminal record that would later aggravate his situation, but that he was able to get rid of thanks to a tape that placed him in Dodger Stadium, in a jersey of then-pitcher Kevin Brown. Im Justin Ray. The 29-year-old bartender initially replied, More love coming, Im ready, but his reservations about it were soon revealed in a confessional. 08 Apr 2023 08:59:12 The prosecutor, who had never been unsuccessful in a case, was pressing for Juan to be sentenced to death, and it appeared as though Juan would be executed for a crime that he had not committed. Despite being at a Los Angeles Dodgers baseball game at the time Puebla was killed in a drive-by shooting, Catalan was arrested for the crime. The shooting was retaliation for Puebla's testimony in a gang murder case in which Catalan's brother was a co-defendant. A man named Juan Catalan spent 6 months in jail for the murder of a teenage girl, until his lawyer found unused footage from HBO's "Curb Your Enthusiasm" It proved Juan had been at a Dodger's game with his daughter 31 minutes before the murder took place, roughly 20 miles away. style My daughter, she looks up and she says 'Dad!'" I definitely wanted to make that trip my last trip to jail. On May 12, 2003, Juan Catalan was with friends and his young daughter enjoying a nice night at the ballpark, watching his beloved Los Angeles Dodgers. Juan was disappointed that the Dodgers got destroyed 11-4 by the Atlanta Braves that night. For Juan Catalan, the faults of the criminal justice apparatus briefly showed their terrifying destructive potential when he was arrested for the murder of 16-year-old RT @UberFacts: A man named Juan Catalan spent 6 months in jail for the murder of a teenage girl, until his lawyer found unused footage from HBO's "Curb Your Enthusiasm" It proved Juan had been at a Dodger's game with his daughter 31 minutes before the murder took place, roughly 20 miles away. It is imperative that I find a spot for my customer at Dodger Stadium on that evening. The family was awarded $1. But [keep a] low-pro[file]. How Curb Your Enthusiasm saved this man from prison - New His battles with the church arent over, Lakers vs. Warriors: What scouts expect in playoff series, Musk said hed never settle an unjust legal case against him. The Telegraph values your comments but kindly requests all posts are on topic, constructive and respectful. The Dodgers lost that night and the doom-laden event only marked the beginning of @2021 - YourDailyHunt.com | All Rights Reserved. A year later, gang member Raul Robledo received a life term for Martha's murder. Despite the fact that it was later discovered that the two police officers who investigated Juan and designated him as the shooter had framed him and that, remarkably, one of them is still employed as a police officer Juan claims that he forgives them: You should know that hatred is not something that anyone should carry with them. Jenya Lano: What Are The Interesting Details To Know About The Actress? In the early 1980s, his Uncle Thomas took him to see Fernando Valenzuela pitch. Why is Win Harrison Wilson (Son of Russell Wilson) in Spotlight? But neither of those moments are as poignant as his May 12, 2003, outing to see his beloved Los Angeles Dodgers. Then there came another image in which he was standing upright. WebJuan Catalan was arrested in 2003 for the murder of a young girl who allegedly gave up information in a gang bust. Thats how crazy this was. He sourced eight 10-minute tapes before finding his holy grail: Juan, in his No. Several digital news outlets in Spain began to speculate that Alejandras mother was Rosario Palacios, the late Countess of Montarco, who had posed as a model and whose daughter, who also works in the fashion industry, is named Alejandra. The call had pinged a tower near Dodger Stadium. Juan credits the birth of his daughter, Melissa, for keeping him from gang life: The love that I felt was like no other. He told the New York Post: "That show is hilarious. Daughters of Destiny (Netflix) Filmed over the course of seven years, Daughters of Destiny is reminiscent of past experiments such as the Up documentary series. Lo and behold, theres my client, his daughter and two friends, Melnik previously told The Times. After another three months had passed, Juan was allegedly responsible for the death of Martha Puebla, who was only 16 years old. I think a lot of people believe that nonsense. Officials are still trying to determine the motive for the violence but said in a statement that it is increasingly clear that gang violence is at the center of this tragedy. Sundays shooting has also renewed calls among California officials, city leaders and activists for new crime-prevention and gun-control legislation that they say could help prevent more bloodshed. After Juan had been locked up for a few months, his fiance visited him there to remind him that the night before, he had taken his daughter to see the Dodgers play. Joan | queen of Castile and Aragon | Britannica He didnt recognize the name of the show, and he later admitted that at the time, hed never heard of Curb Your Enthusiasm, but he did remember hearing that Super Dave Osborne, whose real name is Bob Einstein and who played the character Marty Funkhouser on Curb, was somehow involved in the filming. If Juan had been home that night, he might be on death row right now, said Melnik. Who Is Olly Rix, Is He Married, What Are His Best Works? The pair got married 2022 WeAskFreak - Answers to questions on people, things, and places. Juan Catalan is the name of the protagonist of the documentary Long Shot, elaborate production by Netflix, which tells the story of how he escaped the death penalty for having attended a Los Angeles Dodgers game, on 12 May Juans brother, Mario Catalan, was a co-defendant in that case, so police assumed Juan had done the hit for revenge. However, Catalan already had spent five months in jail after being arrested in front of his young, crying daughter. However, when he was in jail awaiting trial, Juan remembered seeing camera crews filming at the stadium on the night in question. The New York Post reported in 2017 that Catalan had earned an associate's degree in general education and hoped to pursue a bachelor's degree in business. Juan Carlos told King Felipe about illegitimate daughter so they In 2007, Juan received $320,000 in a settlement of his civil lawsuit against the LAPD and the city of Los Angeles for false imprisonment, misconduct and defamation. Previously we told you about theBritish family with seven children who lost their dad to suicide who are the subject of a heartbreaking new Netflix documentary. Likewise, it's unknown where she is now. His alibi was that, at the time of the murder, he was attending a baseball game at Dodger Stadium with his daughter. She was even willing to produce the ticket stubs, and Juan was prepared to take a lie detector test; but, the prosecution refused to accept any of their offers. For a while, it was uncertain when he would be able to see her next as the prospect of serving a prison sentence for a crime he didn't commit felt real at the time. Joey Chestnut and Controversy: Examining the Scandals and Uncovering the Life of Brittney Griner: A Biography. On May 12, 2003, Juan took his daughter to a Los Angeles Dodgers baseball game against the Atlanta Braves at their home stadium in Elysian Park, Los Angeles, Calif. After a police misconduct suit against the city, the Melnik found his client in a poor quality Dodgers tape, but in the recording of the program, just he and his daughter crossed each other in a scene without ever knowing that they were in the middle of a film, that managed to give him his freedom, thus such as the location of his cell phone, in a call to his girlfriend Alma Oseguera, from an antenna located near the Los Angeles stadium.