By Emilee White
In 2003, “Curb Your Enthusiasm” was filming a scene at Dodger Stadium during a regular season game. Nothing was special about this episode or this game, or so everyone thought. What people didn’t think would happen is this particular scene from the tv show at this particular Dodger baseball game would be the longshot Juan Catalan needed to clear himself of first-degree murder.
Let’s back up.
The same day “Curb Your Enthusiasm” was filming, 16-year-old Martha Puebla was killed in a gang-related shooting, and Catalan was the police’s prime suspect. Only a few days went by before Catalan was arrested and charged with murder, but this story wasn’t so cut and dry as the police were hoping. Why is that? Because Catalan was at a Dodgers game with his daughter the night Puebla was killed.
Claiming his innocence, Catalan provided ticket stubs to prove his alibi, but it wasn’t enough for the police, and his case went to trial. Fortunately for Catalan, his lawyer, Todd Melnick, was determined to clear his client, even if it was a long shot.
From cell phone towers to video cameras, Catalan and his defense team worked nonstop to place him in the baseball stadium, but because this occurred in 2003, technology wasn’t as precise as it is today. That means cell towers can pick up locations only within a few miles can camera footage wasn’t very clear.
Catalan and his team were able to prove he was in fact at the game through the cellphone towers, however, there was still room to accuse him of leaving the game early to commit the murder so they needed to get him on camera at Dodger Stadium. Catalan remembered seeing a tv crew while he was in attendance at the game, and now it was up to Melnick to track down who was filming and to find the proof they needed.
After securing and scouring through hours of footage, Melnick finally saw Catalan appear on the film with his daughter and a timestamp putting him at the game, and his innocence was proven. Even Larry David himself was so invested in the story that he appeared in the Netflix documentary “Longshot” which covers Catalan’s story. The case was eventually dismissed and Catalan was released from prison after five and a half months and received compensation from the LAPD.
Today, “Curb Your Enthusiasm” is one of the top shows in the United States, the Dodgers won the 2020 World Series after a 32-year drought, and Catalan remains a free man.
Photo Credit: Ken Lund
