Casefile True Crime - Case 134: Martha Puebla

Episode Date: December 14, 2019

16-year-old Martha Puebla was no stranger to gang violence. She lived in California’s San Fernando Valley, where Latin American organisations like the 18th Street Gang and the Vineland Boyz controlled the streets. So when Martha inadvertently witnessed a gang-related murder, she knew to keep her mouth shut. --- Episode narrated by the Anonymous Host Episode written and researched by Eileen Ormsby Creative Director: Milly Raso For all credits and sources please visit casefilepodcast.com/case-134-martha-puebla

Our episodes deal with serious and often distressing incidents. If you feel at any time you need support, please contact your local crisis centre. For suggested phone numbers for confidential support, please see the show notes for this episode on your app or on our website. To protect the identity of certain witnesses, some names in this episode have been changed. The notorious 18th Street Gang was one of Los Angeles' largest criminal gangs, boasting up to 50,000 members across the United States, and an alliance with La AME, a US-based criminal organisation also known as the Mexican Mafia.

In the early 1980s, a rebellious group broke away from 18th Street and formed the Vineland Boys, named after Vineland Street in North Hollywood where some of the crew played football. Dead affection was considered a betrayal by the 18th Street Gang, resulting in a deadly decades-long conflict between the two groups. In the 1980s and 90s, LA Street Gangs with Latin American origins were expected to comply with conduct laid down and enforced by La AME. They were also required to pay taxes to La AME to cement control over their turf and ensure the protection of incarcerated gang members.

When the Vineland Boys refused to pay their taxes, they were denounced by La AME, and in 1999 the group's founder was murdered by rival gangs. Following his death, several senior members, dubbed shock callers, controlled and regulated the gang's activities. In the early 2000s, the Vineland Boys attempted to smooth things over with La AME. During their efforts to ingratiate themselves back into the fold, they established a reputation for extreme violence and recklessness, with their members considered some of the most dangerous in the city.

Unlike other gangs, the Vineland Boys didn't wear uniforms or identify themselves with a specific colour. Instead, they dressed as though they were businessmen. By 2002, the gang comprised mainly of Latin Americans who controlled much of the San Fernando Valley and Burbank drug trade and engaged in murder, narcotics trafficking, money laundering, racketeering and witness intimidation. The gang's leaders enforced harsh discipline among their members and associates, often assaulting or killing those who violated their organization's rules.

On Saturday, November 23, 2002, three members of the Vineland Boys were out driving after a birthday celebration at the graveside of a fallen member. Inebriated from consuming a mix of alcohol and drugs, the trio drove along Lancashire Boulevard in North Hollywood and came across 26-year-old Enrique Acosta sitting in his car. They decided to confront him, demanding to know where he was from. Enrique replied, Canoga Park, naming territory that belonged to a rival gang. In response, one of the Vineland Boys pulled out a 9mm handgun and shot him dead.

Four days later, in the early hours of Wednesday, November 27, 2002, 16-year-old Martha Puebla was lying in her bed in her home on the corner of Lowell Street and Case Avenue in Sun Valley, a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley. Shortly before 2am, she heard a tapping sound at her ground floor window. Looking out, she saw her friend Sophia standing outside. Sophia wanted Martha to go out with her and her boyfriend, 18-year-old Christian Vargas, who was waiting in his car out front. As Martha deliberated whether or not to go, a man in a hooded sweatshirt approached Christian's

car. Suddenly, gunshots rang out, causing Sophia to leap through Martha's bedroom window to hide. When they were confident the gunmen had fled, Martha and Sophia went outside and cautiously approached the vehicle. Christian's body was riddled with bullets, but he was still alive. He begged the girls for help, but before assistance could arrive, he slumped forward against the steering wheel and died.

Martha and Sophia appeared to be the only witnesses to the shooting of Christian Vargas. When police arrived at the scene, they separated the two young women, with homicide detectives Martin Pinner and Juan Rodriguez taking responsibility for the investigation. Sophia claimed that as soon as they heard the gunfire, Martha had cried out. It was Pepps. Pepps was the nickname of 19-year-old Jose Ledezma, Martha's ex-boyfriend, and a member of the Vineland Boys. Martha denied making this statement, telling the detectives that she hadn't seen the

gunmen and had merely speculated whether the assailant was one of the Vineland Boys. Aware that the gang sought vengeance against police informants, Martha remained cautious and offered little information to the investigators. Nevertheless, detectives Pinner and Rodriguez were familiar with the Vineland Boys and considered Jose Ledezma a strong lead. The 19-year-old was already wanted for questioning in relation to the murder of Enrique Acosta four days earlier, and bullet casings found that both crime scenes had been fired from a 9mm semi-automatic handgun.

A search of Ledezma's house was conducted that night. He wasn't home, but police found a loaded assault rifle hidden beneath a mattress, as well as letters from incarcerated members of the Vineland Boys. Police were told that Ledezma was currently with another Vineland member, 24-year-old Mario Catalan, who was also a suspect in Enrique Acosta's murder. When word reached Ledezma that police had searched his home, he, Catalan, and Catalan's girlfriend fled south across the border into Mexico in an attempt to gather funds for Ledezma's defense attorney.

Two days later, Mexican police were called to a dispute at a motel in the city of Tijuana, 129 miles south of LA. There, they found a heavily intoxicated Jose Ledezma, along with Mario Catalan, who was assaulting his girlfriend. She told the police that her two male companions were wanted for murder in the United States. A 9mm semi-automatic handgun was found in their vehicle, and Catalan had $3,200 in cash on him, which police believed he planned to use to bribe Mexican officials to protect him from extradition.

Both Ledezma and Catalan were immediately escorted back to Los Angeles and taken into custody. That night, detectives Pinar and Rod Regas interviewed Ledezma about the murders of Enrique Acosta and Christian Vargas. He didn't request a lawyer, instead giving flippant, profanity-laden answers while flatly denying any involvement. Certain he was the culprit, the detectives tried all their usual methods of interrogation, but LA gang members were loyal, tight-lipped, and notoriously hard to crack.

Ledezma simply insisted, You got the wrong person, buddy. Detective Pinar told him they had multiple witnesses who were willing to testify that he had shot Christian Vargas. One was Ledezma's ex-girlfriend, Martha Puebla, who had told police that he had been on his way to visit her the night of the shooting. Ledezma maintained his innocence, claiming he didn't know anyone named Martha. Detective Pinar then produced what is known as a six-pack, a photographic line-up of six

individuals with similar features to their prime suspect. It is shown to witnesses, and if they provide a positive identification, it can later be used as evidence against the accused. The six-pack presented to Ledezma displayed images of himself alongside five other men. His mugshot had been circled, and the letters MP were written underneath, along with the words, This is who shot my friend's boyfriend, followed by Martha Puebla's signature. Ledezma remained steadfast and refused to confess.

When shown a picture of Martha Puebla, he maintained he didn't know her, but Detective Pinar pressed on, remarking, Well, she knows you. The interrogation of Mario Catalan was equally ineffectual, even when he was confronted with test results that had proven the firearm recovered from his vehicle was the one used in the shootings. Police set Catalan's bail at $1.25 million, and he was placed in a holding cell with his co-accused, where the pair's conversations were recorded by a covert listening device. Catalan immediately told Ledezma about the gun, who in turn sounded particularly agitated,

but neither said anything that implicated them in the murders. Rumours circulated among gang members that Martha Puebla was to blame for Ledezma's criminal charges, and on Thursday, May 1, 2003, the 16-year-old was forced to testify at his and Mario Catalan's preliminary hearing, where both men faced charges for the murders of Christian Vargas and Onrique Acosta. Martha was noted as a reluctant witness, impacted by anxiety and fear, and unwilling to say anything in front of the defendants that might put her in danger. When asked to point to the shooter, she claimed she was unable to do so, as she hadn't seen

him well enough. Just over a week later, on the night of Monday, May 12, 2003, Martha was sitting and chatting with friends on the curb outside her home. As they talked, a black four-door Honda Accord with tinted windows circled the block several times, but the group paid little attention. Shortly after 10.30pm, Martha and her friend Lucas were the only ones remaining on the curb. The Honda Accord had returned and was idling nearby.

One of its passengers, a young male, emerged and approached Martha. He demanded to know who she was, and she responded, I'm Martha. You know me. Without hesitating, the man reached into his sweatshirt pocket, pulled out a 9mm handgun, and fired several shots at Martha at close range. He jumped back into the Honda, which sped away, as several residents cautiously emerged from their homes to investigate the noise.

When Martha's mother realized her daughter had been shot, she let out an anguished scream that could be heard throughout the neighborhood, and cried out in Spanish, My God, she's dead. Police cordoned off Lull Street, and as one officer comforted Martha's parents, he recognized her name and contacted Detective Martin Pinner to inform him that one of the key witnesses in his case against Jose Ledesma was now deceased. Detective Pinner and his partner, Detective Juan Rodriguez, were convinced that Martha was either murdered in retaliation for testifying at Ledesma's preliminary hearing, or to ensure

she wouldn't be able to give evidence once the case proceeded to trial. The slaying would also serve as a powerful warning to other potential witnesses to reconsider cooperating with law enforcement. The message was received loud and clear, with attempts to gather information about Martha's death coming up dry, even though several people had observed the gunman flee. They tracked down Martha's friend to Lucas, whom she had been chatting with at the time she was killed. He had fled the scene immediately after the shooting, explaining that he feared for his

life. Although Lucas was hesitant to get involved in the investigation, he eventually agreed to assist the police in creating a composite sketch of the perpetrator. He described the shooter as a Latino male, aged between 19 and 25, approximately 5 foot 8 to 5 foot 10 inches tall, with a stocky build, short hair, a mustache, and a small amount of facial hair beneath his lower lip. For their own protection, Martha's parents, Martha Router, and Regulo Puebla were relocated into state, while their daughter was laid to rest near her hometown at the San Fernando

Mission Cemetery. She was remembered as a caring aunt to her seven-year-old nephew, and her headstone was engraved with the words, We will always carry you in our hearts. On June 7, more than three weeks after Martha's murder, the Los Angeles City Council offered a $25,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible. Meanwhile, investigators focused on identifying violent boys' members who matched the suspect's sketch. It was a difficult task, given that the gang was largely comprised of young Latinos with

short dark hair and facial hair. Yet, there was one man in particular that stood out, 24-year-old Juan Catalan. He was the younger brother of Mario Catalan, Jose Ledezma's co-accused in the murders of Enrique Acosta and Christian Vargas. Juan had been in court during the preliminary hearing in which Martha Puebla had testified, and he lived five blocks from Lull Street. He had a familial connection to the violent boys, and investigators believed his appearance matched the sketch of Martha's killer.

Lead detectives Pina and Rodriguez were certain Juan was motivated by a desire to protect his older brother from information Martha could provide at trial. Using a pre-existing mugshot of Juan Catalan, the detectives created a six-pack and showed it to witnesses of Martha Puebla's murder, including her friend DeLucas, to determine if any could make a positive identification. Juan and Mario Catalan had always been close. The brothers were raised in Sun Valley, where they were expected to follow in the footsteps of their hard-working father who owned a machinery store.

By the time the siblings were in their teens, Juan dropped out of high school to work for the family business as expected, but Mario had started associating with criminals and participating in illicit activities. Intrigued by the loot his older brother would bring home from his crime sprees, Juan agreed to act as Mario's getaway driver, a decision which landed him in jail. Prison rattled Juan, and he was determined never to return. Therefore, when Mario joined the Vineland Boys, Juan didn't follow suit. Instead, he continued working with his father and started a family with a woman named Dalmar.

Their relationship was punctuated with disputes, and by the time their two daughters were aged four and six, the couple were living apart, though refused to give up on their relationship. At 6am on Tuesday, August 12, 2003, Alma drove Juan to work while the couple's four-year-old daughter sat in the back seat. When Alma stopped the car, three vehicles appeared and parked crossways in front of them, cutting off their path. Juan exited the vehicle and was immediately swarmed by 10 armed undercover police officers who warded him to get on his knees. He complied and was then pinned to the ground and taken into custody.

Juan was driven to a North Hollywood police station where he was kept in a cell for several hours before being led into an interview room to be questioned by detectives Pinar and Rodriguez. He asked why he had been taken into custody, but both detectives insisted that he knew exactly why. When asked about his whereabouts three months earlier on the night of May 12, 2003, Juan said he couldn't recall. The detectives then reminded him of his right to remain silent and informed him that he was under arrest for the murder of 16-year-old Martha Puebla. Juan was told he resembled the composite sketch of Martha's killer, and that witnesses had identified him as the gunman.

The detectives produced three six-packs that fidgeted Juan's old mug shot, which had been circled in each. Written in Spanish underneath one were the words, this is the guy who I saw doing the shooting, accompanied by a signature. Detective Rodriguez remarked, you see, the pitches don't lie. Beth Silverman was a tough, smart prosecutor who held a coveted record for never losing a murder conviction. Her colleagues had nicknamed her the Sniper because she always sought the death penalty. It was no different when she helmed the trial for Martha Puebla's murder, with Silverman informing the county court that she would be seeking a death sentence for Juan Catalan.

In the meantime, Juan was sent to a high-security prison to await further proceedings. He was stripped naked, subjected to a full-body search, and crammed into a small room with a hundred other prisoners before they were issued with uniforms. He was then assigned to an overcrowded cell where he was given a thin mattress on the concrete ground to sleep on. Conditions were filthy, with the shower drains backing up to the point that the prisoners felt as though they were bathing in their own filth. A cousin of Juan's was employed as a filing clerk for a law firm and would often rave about one of the officer's criminal defense attorneys, Todd Melnick. He once told Juan that if he ever got into trouble, Melnick would be the one to call,

to which Juan responded, Bro, nobody here needs a lawyer. After he had been charged with Martha Puebla's murder, Juan reached out to Melnick, who prided himself on working hard for his clients in cases that required in-depth investigation and analysis. Melnick claimed to have a shadow seasoned Los Angeles Police Department detectives when it came to diligent fact-finding and using the latest techniques and technologies. A satisfied client of Melnick's was quoted as saying, in a town of charlatans, this guy is the real deal. Melnick visited Juan in prison to decide whether to take on his case. When the accused killer

professed his innocence and explained that he was being framed by the police, Melnick felt he was being sincere. He later told current affairs program, 60 minutes. I could tell by Juan's demeanor. I could tell by his voice. He was an easy read. Juan attended multiple court hearings in the lead-up to his murder trial, during which he was shackled to a chair while the legal teams briefly conversed. He wasn't familiar with legal terminology and relied on his lawyer to keep him informed. At one hearing, Melnick advised his client that it was important that he looked straight ahead when entering the court as Martha Puebla's entire family was inside. Juan shuffled in

with his head bowed and once seated, stared straight ahead as members of Martha's family sobbed. When the hearing was over and Juan was being led away, Martha's mother screamed at him in Spanish. I will never forgive you for what you did to my daughter. Juan's family visited him in prison and remained supportive, with his religious mother telling him that God would not allow him to be convicted of a crime he didn't commit and that justice would prevail. Although Juan refused to let his young daughters see him inside, he maintained regular contact with them and his girlfriend Alma over the telephone. During one call, Alma presented Juan with a possible alibi for the night Martha was murdered.

Juan had always been a die-hard sports fan. As a child, he dreamed of growing up to become a professional basketballer and followed DLA Lakers basketball team religiously. When it came to American football, he was a San Francisco 49ers fan. He inherited his family's love of DLA Dodgers baseball team, with some of his earliest memories involving sharing a pair of binoculars with his brother as they sat side by side in the stadium's cheapest seats, known as the nosebleed section. It was a passion that he maintained into adulthood and when Juan was 18 years old, he watched as a player described as a Joe Schmo from the Dodger bench hit a two-run homer in the ninth inning. The ball sailed into the left field pavilion where Juan was seated and he caught

it flawlessly, fulfilling a lifelong dream. Although Juan's life could be unpredictable at times, his love of sports was constant. He attended every Dodgers and Lakers game he could, usually in the nosebleed section, but was occasionally lucky enough to secure good seats. He was keen to share his passion with his daughters and although six-year-old Melissa didn't really understand what was happening at the games, she loved the atmosphere. One day in May of 2003, a customer from Juan's work gave him four last-minute tickets to a game at Dodger Stadium, where the home team was playing against the Atlanta Braves. Juan took his daughter Melissa, his cousin, and another friend to the event. It had been a tired game

coming into the final inning, but the Dodgers ultimately lost 11-4. Juan kept all the sporting memorabilia and souvenirs from the games he attended, and was certain he retained the ticket stubs from the match. He gave Alma a list of places he thought they might be, but she was unable to find them. Todd Melnick instructed her to turn her entire apartment upside down if she had to, and in a dresser draw, she found two ticket stubs to the Dodgers vs Braves game which took place at Dodger Stadium on May 12, 2003. Melnick warned his client that the tickets alone wouldn't be enough to secure his release. All they proved was that somebody had been at the game that night, but not necessarily Juan

himself. Juan's cousin and friend who joined him at the game both vouched for his presence, but Melnick didn't consider them to be reliable witnesses for the defense. The tickets featured seat numbers, so Melnick visited Dodger Stadium and was given access to footage captured by a video recording system known as Dodger Cam. He constantly panned the crowd and projected real-time footage onto the large display screens within the stadium. Melnick watched the footage taken on May 12, 2003, pausing frame by frame whenever the camera passed the area where Juan allegedly sat with his daughter. Melnick could make out two occupants in the seats,

but the footage was too blurry to make a positive identification. He also watched the entire three-hour long match that had been broadcast by the Fox Sports Channel, but shots taken around the pivotal seating section were too low a resolution to identify individual crowd members. Melnick reported his efforts to Juan, who suddenly remembered another detail from the game. At one point, he and Melissa were returning to their seats after a food and bathroom break, but their path was blocked by a television camera that didn't look like the ones used at the stadium. A production assistant asked Juan if he would mind waiting a few minutes while they filmed

their shot. Juan could still see the pitch from behind the camera, so he politely agreed. He recalled that a bald-in Caucasian man was walking up and down the stairs, yelling in full view of the camera, but Juan was too focused on the game to remember anything else. After a short while, the production assistant permitted the father and daughter to return to their seats. Juan also recalled that someone in his section had mentioned that Super Dave Osborne was in attendance, but Juan didn't recognize the name. Todd Melnick learned that the Dodgers allowed outside film and television crews to shoot footage in the stadium from time to time, though it was rare for it to take place during an actual game, so as to avoid inconveniencing

the paying fans. Melnick was given access to the stadium's records, and on May 12, 2003, there was just one entry in the filming log. Melnick called the accompanying phone number and a voice on the other end answered by stating, HBO. As it turned out, the American cable television network had been at the stadium that night filming an episode of their hit comedy series, Curb Your Enthusiasm. Super Dave Osborne, who Juan overheard was present at the game, was American comedian and actor Bob Einstein, who played a character on Curb Your Enthusiasm named Marty Funkauser. Curb Your Enthusiasm is a high-budget comedy series produced by and starring American comedian Larry David. Larry is best known as the co-creator of popular 90s sitcom

Seinfeld, and is rumored to have been the inspiration for the show's neurotic and petty character of George Costanza. In Curb Your Enthusiasm, Larry plays a fictionalized version of himself, with all his neuroses and quirks exaggerated for comedic effect. The show premiered on October 15, 2000, and follows Larry, a semi-retired television writer and producer in Los Angeles, focusing primarily on the many faux pas he makes when faced with certain social conventions and expectations. When Todd Milnick contacted HBO to request the footage taken in Dodger Stadium on May 12, 2003, he was met with reluctance. That particular episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm hadn't aired yet, and was scheduled to premiere the following spring. HBO was strict about

pre-production footage being viewed by anyone outside the network, but Milnick explained to the situation and pressed executives, stating it was a matter of life or death. HBO told him it was unlikely he would be able to locate his client in their footage, as there had only been two cameras in operation, and there were more than 56,000 patrons at the game. Nevertheless, Milnick was so passionate and convincing that his request was put through to Larry David himself. Noting the attorney's bizarre story could have been the plot for an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm, Larry permitted Milnick to view the footage. Milnick visited the HBO Studios in Santa Monica, where he was placed in an editing room with the

show's producers, and granted access to all the rough footage from episode 7 of season 4, titled The Carpool Lane. In the episode, Larry is in a hurry to get to a Dodgers game and hires a sex worker to ride as a passenger in his car so that he can use the highway's carpool lane. Upon arriving to the stadium, Larry is upset that he has to sit in what he considers to be lousy seats. In one scene, he briefly walks down the aisle in an attempt to join his friend, Marty Funkhauser, who is sitting in a field-level seat. While viewing the footage, Milnick recognized the stand where Juan was allegedly seated with his daughter, but there was no sign of them. On the fifth or sixth tape, the camera was following Larry as he

ascended the stairs from the field-level seats, when a man in a white Dodgers t-shirt with the number 27 on the back walked in the shot. He was eating a hot dog and holding the hand of a little girl, seemingly oblivious that he was about to cut off the star of the show. As the man turned to take his seat, his face was clearly visible. Milnick nearly leapt out of his chair and pointed at the screen, announcing, that's him right there. Roll that tape back. Despite the breakthrough, the footage was time-stamped at 9.10 pm. Lowell Street was a 16-mile north-westerly drive from Dodger Stadium, and the journey typically took upwards of 30 minutes, not withstanding inner-city baseball game traffic.

As Martha Puebler was killed an hour and 20 minutes later at 10.32 pm, Milnick knew the prosecution could argue it was possible that Juan had left the stadium before the game ended, shortly after 10 pm, to carry out the shooting. Complicating matters was the fact that Juan himself had even admitted to being on Lowell Street 10 minutes after Martha's murder. He was dropping off his cousin after the game, who lived 150 yards away. However, he insisted he would never have left the game early when it was a tie going into the ninth inning. When Milnick asked for further proof, Juan remembered he had purchased souvenir baseball cards at the end of the match. However, as he had paid for them with cash, there was no record of

the transaction. Cell phone records revealed that at 10.13 pm, Juan had taken up 49-second phone call from Alma. This detail reminded Milnick of his time spent observing the infamous 1995 trial of NFL player OJ Simpson, who was accused of murdering his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman. After he was charged with the murders, Simpson refused to turn himself in and was involved in a low-speed police pursuit, which was televised and watched by an estimated 95 million viewers. Simpson was using a cell phone during the chase, and police were able to confirm his location by verifying which cell towers the device was pinging off at the time. Milnick decided to use this same technique and subpoenaed Juan Catalan's phone records from

the night of May 12, 2003. They confirmed that the 10.13 pm call from Alma had pinged off a tower alongside Dodger Stadium. Even if Juan had been able to reach Lowell Street within the 20-minute timeframe to execute Martha Puebla at 10.32 pm, witnesses had seen the perpetrator's vehicle circling the neighborhood around 10 pm, when Juan was still at Dodger Stadium. Juan's preliminary hearing commenced in January 2004. Todd Milnick presented all of the evidence he had collected that placed his client at Dodger Stadium immediately prior to Martha Puebla's murder. Juan's young daughter Melissa took the stand and testified to attending the Dodgers game with her father, during which she remembered they bought ice cream and souvenir baseball cards.

The prosecution remained dubious about Juan's alibi, questioning why he didn't mention it when he was first interviewed by detectives. Juan maintained he had been in shock at the time and unable to think clearly. Tapes of his initial police interrogation were played in court, wherein a worried Juan continuously asserted his innocence to detectives Martin Pinar and Juan Rodriguez. On three occasions, he pleaded to sit a polygraph test, but the detectives ignored the request and continued to accuse him of Martha Puebla's murder. The prosecution had learned of Juan's baseball game alibi during pre-trial proceedings, but had dismissed it, convinced he had enough time to leave the stadium and carry out the crime. His cell phone records proved

otherwise and served to highlight the failure of the case detectives to carry out a thorough investigation to find out this information for themselves. It also indicated their reluctance to try and clear their prime suspect. Melnick also pointed out that there were discrepancies in the eyewitness accounts of Martha's killer, who was described as having facial hair beneath his lower lip, which Juan never had. The killer was also said to have a stocky frame between 5'8 and 5'10 inches tall, while Juan was 6'1 with a lean build. Lucas, Martha's friend who witnessed her murder, provided this description to police and appeared in court as the prosecution's star witness. When asked if he could see the shooter in the courthouse, Lucas pointed directly

at Juan Catalan, who silently shook his head. While Judge Leslie Dunn considered Lucas to be credible and honest, she noted that the execution had occurred swiftly in a dimly lit street. Additionally, Lucas panicked and fled the scene immediately. Therefore, his memory might not be accurate. Judge Dunn ultimately accepted the HBO footage and Phone Tower evidence as proof of Juan Catalan's alibi, and ruled that it was near impossible for him to have reached Martha's house in time to carry out the shooting. Therefore, she concluded he could not be committed to stand trial for a crime that carried the death penalty. Unable to comprehend what the judge was saying, Juan turned to his attorney, who clarified,

It's over. Overwhelmed by the news that he was free to go, Juan began to cry. Juan Catalan was released immediately, with camera crews capturing him in an emotional embrace with Alma and their two daughters. He later told reporters, To hear the words from the judge's mouth, I just broke down in tears. It was the happiest moment in my life. During his five and a half months in prison, he had lost 30 pounds, and his first request was for a Coca-Cola. Juan gave Todd Melnick one last hug before departing with his family to purchase the drink. Melnick later told the New York Post newspaper, If Juan had been home the night of the shooting, he might be on death row right now.

That's how crazy this was. Only by happenstance did he get tickets to go to the game that night. Only by happenstance would Curb your enthusiasm be filming in his section that night. Two days after Juan's release, he was forced to report back to the county jail due to an alleged clerical error. Melnick believed the matter would be settled within 24 hours, but Juan was held in custody for another two weeks. After his release, Juan purchased the box set of Curb your enthusiasm. Although he had since become a fan of the sitcom due to the impact it had on his life, he was embarrassed to admit that before his ordeal, he had never heard of it or Larry David. Juan stated, From getting the tickets on the day of to being caught on camera,

what are the chances that out of 56 to 58,000 seats they're filming on my aisle? I look at it like I did win the lottery because I got a new opportunity at life with my family. I'm so happy and grateful for that. Larry David later reflected on the vital role he show played in securing Juan's freedom, remarking, I tell people that I've done one decent thing in my life, albeit inadvertently. Juan and Larry eventually met and after being warned the comedian was a germaphobe, Juan was pleasantly surprised when Larry shook his hand. Although Juan's release was a positive outcome for him and his family, it was devastating for Martha Pueblo's parents. As they didn't speak English,

they relied on the police to inform them about the case and court proceedings and had been assured that their daughter's murderer had been caught and would pay for his crime. When the case against Juan was dropped, they couldn't understand the sudden turn of events and thought that he may have been let off on a technicality or by the work of a clever lawyer. Confused and grief-stricken, Martha's mother went to Juan's workplace and screamed for him to come out and get what he deserved, but he wasn't there at the time. Following his ordeal, Juan Catalan was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. In mid-2004, he sued the city of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Police Department,

and four detectives, including Martin Pinar and Juan Rodriguez, for violating his civil rights and failing to investigate his alibi or pursue any other leads. He also accused law enforcement of breaching department regulations by encouraging a witness to pick him out of a photographic lineup and sued them for negligence, false arrest, defamation, and inflection of emotional distress. For the stress and anguish caused, he sued an undisclosed financial compensation. Juan told reporters, What they did to me was very wrong. They put me through hell. I was arrested at gunpoint in front of my four-year-old daughter when she was crying. They took me away from my family.

My parents almost lost their house and small business, but mainly, they took my life away. I was in jail for five months for nothing. His civil suit attorney, Gary Castleman, told the media, No amount of money can replace a loss like this. This was a nightmare that only by good fortune turned out right. The detectives in this case didn't do their jobs properly and they didn't follow proper procedures. Todd Melnick did the job the police were supposed to have done and paid to do. It was incompetence. They took the easy way out. Castleman explained that Juan consequently had to spend a tremendous sum of money to clear his name,

remarking, Now it's their turn to pay. In a shocking revelation, while under cross-examination, detectives Pinar and Rodriguez admitted to fabricating evidence to implicate Juan Catalan in Martha Puebla's murder. In the United States, detectives are not obligated to tell the truth when interrogating suspects and are permitted to lie in an attempt to elicit a confession. The liars most commonly told relate to non-existent physical evidence, such as falsely claiming to have found a suspect's fingerprints or DNA at a crime scene. Detectives can also lie about having eyewitnesses or confessions from accomplices.

In Juan's case, detectives Pinar and Rodriguez admitted to doctoring the six-pack photographic lineups presented to Juan during his initial interrogation. The pair confessed that they were the ones who circled Juan's image and that they had forged the signature and words of a supposed witness that read, This is the guy who I saw doing the shooting. They justified their actions, calling the tactic a ruse to try to elicit a confession. Detectives Pinar and Rodriguez remained on the homicide squad throughout the long and drawn out civil suit. Martha Puebla's case technically remained open, but little was done to investigate as the police still believed in Juan's guilt. After three years, the civil suit finally reached

its conclusion in March 2007. The court found that the detectives had probable cause for arresting Juan and did acted in good faith when they tricked him into thinking witnesses had identified him as the killer through the doctored six-pack. Juan was awarded $320,000, an amount considered by some to be woefully inadequate. Although Juan could have continued to fight the city of Los Angeles for an improved outcome, he decided against appealing, as there was a possibility he could lose his compensation altogether. In January 2005, prosecutors began trial preparations for Vineland Boys gang member Jose Ledezma for the 2002 murders of Christian Vargas and Onrique Acosta. During this time, Spanish-speaking police officers were asked to listen to original

recordings of several telephone calls Ledezma had made from prison following his arrest. In late 2002, Ledezma called a man he referred to as Cokestar, asking, Do you know the slut that lives by my house? Her name starts with an M. I need her to disappear. She's dropping dimes. But keep a low profile, stay on your toes, homie, and don't get caught. Cokestar was a fellow Vineland Boys member named Javier Covarrubias. Covarrubias agreed to orchestrate the killing Ledezma had requested and persuaded two other gang members, Raul Robledo and Luis Sandoval, to assist. The men visited a firing range to test the gun they considered using to carry out the execution, but deemed it unacceptable and chose

a 9mm handgun instead. Police had been completely unaware that the order to kill Martha Puebla had been recorded months before her death. During their calls, Ledezma and Covarrubias had communicated in a mix of English and Spanish. At the time, authorities employed an external company to translate and transcribe their recordings twice, but they had done so poorly and their transcriptions were difficult to comprehend. It wasn't until over two years later when Spanish speaking officers listened to the raw audio of the calls themselves that their significance was fully realised. Not only did they implicate Ledezma and the Vineland Boys in Martha Puebla's murder, but they completely vindicated Juan Catalan, who wouldn't have been arrested and charged had

the tapes been heard properly in 2002. They also revealed that 18 days after Martha's murder, Ledezma phoned a different associate and used coded language to request that fellow gang member Carlos Casillas kill another teenage girl who was also acting as a police informant. While Jose Ledezma awaited trial, an 18-month investigation into the Vineland Boys came to an end. The inquiry stemmed from a 2003 incident in which a gang member shot and killed 26-year-old Burbank police officer Matthew Pavelka and seriously injured his partner Gregory Campbell. Matthew's murder prompted law enforcement to take action in dismantling the Vineland Boys. Task Force Operation Silent Night was created, consisting of 1,300 officers from various local

and federal departments and agencies. More than $1 million, 75 firearms, and 300 pounds of cocaine, heroin, and amphetamines were confiscated from the gang. 23 Vineland Boys members were arrested, with Jose Ledezma and Javier Coxtak of Arubias among those who were charged. The gang members faced a 56-count federal indictment for crimes committed over a 10-year period, including charges for racketeering and violating federal drug and weapon laws. Burbank police chief Thomas Hoefel told reporters, It is the ultimate affront to attack and kill those that protect others. The gang has terrorized people of Burbank for years. Today is Armageddon.

They will have Newturf to defend in the federal prison system. In January 2008, nearly five years after Martha Puebla's murder, Jose Ledezma struck a plea deal with the city of Los Angeles to avoid the death penalty. He confessed to the murders of Enrique Costa and Christian Vargas and admitted to soliciting the murders of both Martha Puebla and another teenage witness. Fellow Vineland Boys members Javier Covarrubias and Raul Robledo pleaded guilty to locating and killing Martha Puebla under Ledezma's instructions, with Robledo confessing to pulling the trigger. Ledezma, Covarrubias, and Robledo were reached sentenced to life in prison.

A fourth gang member, 22-year-old Luis Sandoval, who allegedly drove the men to Martha's home, was also charged. During the court proceedings, Martha's parents received assistance from a translator, and for the first time, they learned of the role the detectives Martin Pinner and Juan Rodriguez had played in their daughter's death. Just as they had done in their effort to elicit a confession from Juan Catalan, it was revealed that the detectives had also falsified the six-pack used during their interrogation of Jose Ledezma. Despite the obvious danger it presented to Martha Puebla, detectives Pinner and Rodriguez had circled Ledezma's photo and forged Martha's

signature along with the message, this is who shocked my friend's boyfriend. Ledezma was convinced that the identification was genuine and that Martha was a police informant, but in reality, she had been so fearful of the violent boys that she'd protected Ledezma, refusing to offer any information to police or in court that might implicate him. The gang murdered Martha 11 days after she reluctantly testified at Ledezma's preliminary hearing. On May 13, 2008, Martha's parents filed a complaint against the city of Los Angeles, police chief William Bratton, and detectives Martin Pinner and Juan Rodriguez. They claimed that police had deliberately withheld information that Martha was being used as bait in their

investigation and that her murder was a foreseeable result of their actions. The complaint's proceedings dragged out for two years, with a variety of lawyers working for Martha's parents on a no-win, no-fee basis. Police maintained to that Martha and her family had been offered protection, but had turned it down. One officer testified that he recalled hearing a discussion about the subject, but was unsure what came of it. Martha's parents denied this, which was backed by a detailed log the detectives kept of their investigation. It contained no record of them having contact with Martha's family after they showed the doctored six-pack to Ledezma. The family's lawyer told the court,

Martha Puebla was murdered because the LAPD put a bullseye on her back by telling a gang member that she was a snitch. In return, the lawyer representing the city of Los Angeles and the LAPD claimed it was Martha's testimony at Ledezma's preliminary hearing that led to her murder. Even though Martha didn't accuse Ledezma in court, she had testified to other information, such as his gang affiliation, which would have been enough for the Vineland boys to seek retaliation. In April 2010, a jury found that detectives Pina and Rodriguez had acted negligently, maliciously, and recklessly, and had violated the due process rights of Martha and her parents. Their negligence was determined to be a substantial contributing factor in Martha's death,

but the jury found that Martha and her parents had also acted negligently. They apportioned 20% of the responsibility for Martha's death to the detectives, and the remaining 80% to Martha and her parents. For the wrongful death of their daughter, Martha's parents were awarded a total of $1 in compensation. When Jose Ledezma's defense attorney was asked for her opinion on the deceptive tactics used by detectives to charge her client, she remarked, To the detectives, Martha Puebla didn't matter. She was just another reluctant witness. An anonymous Los Angeles public defender told the LA Weekly newspaper,

and they wonder why people don't want to come forward. Neither detective was formally penalized for their conduct and both remained in the LAPD. Martin Pina was eventually reassigned to juvenile cases, while Juan Rodriguez was transferred to various departments, including the Vice Unit and Missing Persons Division, until his retirement in 2019. Lying to suspects to elicit a confession is still permitted in the United States, although the treatment of Martha Puebla and Juan Catalan has raised some concerns about the use of such tactics. In response to a feature article on the case published by the Los Angeles Times in July 2008, the LAPD announced they would be making

changes to their training. Detectives must now weigh the benefit of lying to a suspect against the potential danger the liars may create. They also have an obligation to offer police protection to anyone they believe they may have placed in danger. In February 2019, another raid on Los Angeles Street gangs resulted in the arrests of 27 members of the Vineland Boys. 54 firearms and nearly 4,000 grams of methamphetamine were seized and 45 members, including a number who were already incarcerated, were indicted for a range of crimes. Juan Catalan used his compensation payout to attend college and obtain an associate degree in general education and is currently working towards his bachelor's degree in business administration.

He visits underprivileged schools to speak to students about the importance of education and to assure them that their past circumstances and upbringing doesn't determine their future. He visits his older brother Mario in prison regularly and provides him with money to purchase permitted items such as candy and soda, but is determined never to see the inside of a prison cell ever again. Although Juan has not been able to speak to Martha Puebla's family, he acknowledges that they too are victims. In May 2019, he was interviewed by comedian Felipe Esparza for his podcast What's Up Full and stated, I feel for the family. They lost their daughter. They tried to sue the LAPD and they got one dollar.

One dollar. What sort of slap in the face is that? In 2017, media services provider and production company Netflix released the documentary about Juan's ordeal titled Longshot. Juan was reluctant to participate, but eventually agreed as a favor to his former attorney, Todd Melnick. The pair remain friends, often playing basketball and attending Lakers and Dodgers games together. In the documentary, Melnick, who Juan refers to as his white knight, said, We used all kinds of things, Hollywood TV shows, modern technology and good old-fashioned detective work to piece together things to determine where he was. Now here he is standing here, my friend.

Senior Vice President and General Counsel for the Dodgers, Sam Fernandez, posed the question, What if we hadn't done the deal with Larry David? What if the camera crew hadn't gone to that aisle on the field double? What if Juan's daughter had decided she didn't want to go to the ball game? What if he hadn't made the phone call? What if? What if? What if? Baseball remains an important part of Juan's life and when people ask why he is a fan of the Dodgers, he tells them, For one thing, they saved my life.