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workout bestie all in one place neem is a habit changing app that teaches moderation and can be used in
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conjunction with many pre-existing popular diets no food is good bad or off-limits noon can help you boost your
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energy work on your fitness goals and to build your self-confidence to get started you complete a survey that
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provides information and graphics to illustrate how the app works when I filled it out I was pleasantly surprised
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file the last the weight loss program you'll need [Music] our episodes deal with serious and often
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distressing incidents if you feel at anytime you need support please contact your local crisis center for suggested
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phone numbers for confidential support please see the show notes for this episode on your app or on our website to
00:01:45
protect the identity of certain witnesses some names in this episode have been changed the notorious 18th
00:01:57
Street gang was one of Los Angeles's largest criminal gangs boasting up to 50,000 members across the United States
00:02:04
and an alliance with la ma a us-based criminal organization also known as the Mexican Mafia in the early 1980s a
00:02:15
rebellious group who broke away from 18th Street and formed the Vineland boys named after Vineland Street in North
00:02:22
Hollywood where some of the crew played football that affection was considered a
00:02:27
betrayal by the 18th Street gang resulting in a deadly decades-long conflict between the two groups in the
00:02:36
1980s and 90s LA Street gangs with Latin American origins were expected to comply
00:02:42
with conduct to lay down and enforced by LA ma they were also required to pay taxes to LA Amer to cement control over
00:02:51
their turf and ensure the protection of incarcerated gang members when the Vineland boys refused to pay their taxes
00:02:59
they were denounced by l'a ma and in 1999 the group's founder was murdered by rival gangs following his death several
00:03:08
senior members dubbed shock collars controlled and regulated the gangs activities in the early 2000s the
00:03:17
Vineland boys attempted to smooth things over with la ma during their efforts to
00:03:22
ingratiate themselves back into the fold they established a reputation for extreme violence and recklessness with
00:03:29
their members considered some of the most dangerous in the city unlike other gangs the Vineland boys
00:03:37
didn't wear uniforms or identified themselves with a specific color instead they dressed as though they were
00:03:43
businessman by 2002 the gang comprised the mainly of Latin Americans who controlled much of the San Fernando
00:03:52
Valley into Burbank drug trade and engaged in murder narcotics trafficking money laundering racketeering and
00:03:59
witness intimidation the gangs leaders enforced harsh discipline among their members and
00:04:05
associates often assaulting or killing those who violated their organization's rules on Saturday November 23 2002 three
00:04:17
members of the Vineland boys were out driving after a birthday celebration at the graveside of a fallen member
00:04:24
inebriated from consuming a mix of alcohol and drugs the trio drove along Lankershim
00:04:29
Boulevard in North Hollywood and came across 26-year old Enrique Acosta sitting in his car they
00:04:37
decided to confront him demanding to know where he was from andrey k replied Canoga Park naming territory that
00:04:46
belonged to a rival gang in response one of the van Lundt boys pulled out a nine-millimeter handgun and shot him
00:04:55
dead four days later in the early hours of Wednesday November 27 2002 16 year old
00:05:05
Martha Puebla was lying in her bed in her home on the corner of a Lowell Street and case Avenue in Sun Valley a
00:05:12
neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley shortly before 2:00 a.m. she heard a tapping sound at her ground-floor window
00:05:20
looking out she saw her friend Sofia standing outside Sofia wanted Martha to go out with her and her boyfriend
00:05:29
eighteen year old Christian Vargas who was waiting in his car out front as Martha deliberated whether or not to
00:05:37
go a man in a hooded sweatshirt approached Christians car suddenly gunshots rang out closing Sofia to leap
00:05:46
through Martha's bedroom window to hide when they were confident the gunman had fled Martha and Sofia went outside and
00:05:55
cautiously approached the vehicle Christian's body was riddled with bullets but he was still alive he begged
00:06:03
to the girls for help but before assistance could arrive he slumped forward against the steering
00:06:09
wheel and died [Music] Natha and Sofia appeared to be the only witnesses to the shooting of Christian
00:06:42
Vargas when police arrived at the scene they separated the two young women with homicide detectives Martin pinna and
00:06:50
tawan Rodriguez taking responsibility for the investigation Sofia claimed that as soon as they heard
00:06:57
the gunfire Martha had cried out that was paps peps was the nickname of 19 year old Jose Ledesma Martha's
00:07:06
ex-boyfriend and a member of the Vineland boys Martha denied making this statement
00:07:14
telling the detectives that she hadn't seen the gunman and had merely speculated whether the assailant was one
00:07:20
of the violent boys aware that the gang sought vengeance against police informants Martha remained cautious and
00:07:28
offered a little information to the investigators nevertheless detectives pinna and Rodriguez were familiar with
00:07:36
the Vineland boys and considered Jose Ledesma her strong lead the 19 year old was already wanted for questioning in
00:07:44
relation to the murder of Enric a Acosta four days earlier and the bullet casings
00:07:49
found at both crime scenes had been fired from a 9-millimeter semi-automatic handgun a search of ledesma house was
00:07:58
conducted that night he wasn't home the police found a loaded assault rifle hidden beneath the mattress as well as
00:08:06
letters from incarcerated members of the Vineland boys police were told that ledesma was currently with another
00:08:14
vineland member 24-year old Mario Catalan who was also a suspect in Henrique Acosta's murder when word
00:08:23
reached Ledesma that police had searched his home he Catalan and Catalans girlfriend
00:08:29
fled south across the border into Mexico in an attempt to gather funds for ledesma as defense attorney
00:08:37
two days later Mexican police were called to a dispute at a motel in the city of Tijuana 129 miles south of La
00:08:46
there they found a heavily intoxicated Jose ledesma along with Mario Catalan who was assaulting his girlfriend she
00:08:55
told the police that her two male companions were wanted for murder in the United States a 9-millimeter
00:09:03
semi-automatic handgun was found in their vehicle and Catalan had three thousand two hundred dollars in cash on
00:09:10
him which police believed he planned to use to bribe Mexican officials to protect him from extradition both
00:09:18
Ledesma and Catalan were immediately escorted back to Los Angeles and taken into custody
00:09:28
that night detectives pinna and Rodriguez interviewed two Ledesma about the murders of Enric a Acosta and
00:09:35
Cristian Vargas he didn't request a lawyer instead giving flippant profanity-laden answers
00:09:42
while flatly denying any involvement certain he was the culprit the detectives tried all their usual
00:09:50
methods of interrogation that la gang members were loyal tight-lipped and notoriously hard to crack Ledesma simply
00:09:59
insisted you got the wrong person buddy detective Pina told him they had multiple witnesses who were willing to
00:10:09
testify that he had shot Cristian Vargas one was ledesma ex-girlfriend martha pueblo who had told police that he had
00:10:17
been on his way to visit her the night of the shooting Ledesma maintained his innocence claiming he didn't know anyone
00:10:25
named Martha detective pinna then produced what is known as a six-pack a photographic lineup of six individuals
00:10:33
with similar features to their prime suspect it is shown to witnesses and if they
00:10:39
provide a positive identification that can later be used as evidence against the accused the 6-pack presented to
00:10:47
Ledesma displayed images of himself alongside five other men his mug shot had been circled and the letters MP were
00:10:56
written underneath along with the words this is who shot my friend's boyfriend followed by Martha pueblos signature
00:11:06
Ledesma remained steadfast and refused to confess when shown a picture of Martha Puebla he maintained he didn't
00:11:15
know her but detective Pinner pressed on remarking well she knows you the interrogation of Mario Catalan was
00:11:26
equally ineffectual even when he was confronted with test results that had proven the firearm recovered from his
00:11:33
vehicle was the one used in the shootings police said Catalans bail at 1.25 million dollars and he was placed
00:11:42
in a holding soul with his co-accused where the pair's conversations were recorded by a covert listening device
00:11:50
Katalin immediately told her Ledesma about the gun who in turn sounded particularly agitated but neither said
00:11:58
anything that implicated them in the murders rumors circulated among gang members that Martha Puebla was to blame
00:12:07
for Ledesma criminal charges and on Thursday May 1 2003 the sixteen-year-old was forced to testify at his and Mario
00:12:16
Catalans preliminary hearing where both men faced charges for the murders of Christian Vargas and Enric a Acosta
00:12:25
Martha was noted as a reluctant witness impacted by anxiety and fear and unwilling to say anything in front of
00:12:33
the defendants that might put her in danger when asked to point to the shooter she claimed she was unable to do
00:12:41
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
00:12:52
and chatting with friends on the curb outside her home as they talked a black four-door Honda Accord with tinted
00:13:00
windows circled the block several times but the group paid a little attention shortly after 10:30 p.m. Martha and her
00:13:09
friend de Lucas were the only ones remaining on the curb the Honda Accord had returned and was idling nearby one
00:13:18
of its passengers a young male emerged and approached Martha he demanded to know who she was and she responded on
00:13:27
Martha you know me without hesitating the man reached into his sweatshirt pocket pulled out a nine-millimeter
00:13:37
handgun and fired several shots at Martha at close range he jumped back into the Honda which sped away as
00:13:45
several residents cautiously emerged from their homes to investigate the noise when Martha's mother realized her
00:13:53
daughter had been shot she let out an anguished scream that could be heard throughout the neighborhood and too
00:14:00
cried out in Spanish my god she's dead police cordoned off Lowell Street and does one officer comforted Martha's
00:14:15
parents he recognized her name and contact the detective Martin Pinner to inform him that one of the key witnesses
00:14:21
in his case against Jose Ledesma was now deceased detective Pina and his partner detective
00:14:29
juan Rodriguez were convinced that martha was either murdered in retaliation for testifying at Ledesma
00:14:35
preliminary hearing or to ensure she wouldn't be able to give evidence once the case proceeded to trial the slaying
00:14:44
would also serve as a powerful warning to other potential witnesses to reconsider cooperating with law
00:14:50
enforcement the message was received - loud and clear with attempts to gather information
00:14:56
about Martha's death coming up dry even though several people had observed the gunman flee they tracked down Martha's
00:15:06
friend to Lucas whom she had been chatting with at the time she was killed he had fled the scene immediately after
00:15:13
the shooting explaining that he feared for his life although Lucas was hesitant to get involved in the investigation he
00:15:22
eventually agreed to assist the police in creating a composite sketch of the perpetrator
00:15:27
he described the shooter as a Latino male aged between 19 and 25 approximately five foot eight to five
00:15:36
foot ten inches tall with a stocky build short hair a mustache and a small amount
00:15:42
of facial hair beneath his lower lip but their own protection Martha's parents martha radha and
00:15:50
dragula puebla were relocated interstate while their daughter was laid to rest near her hometown at the San Fernando
00:15:57
mission Cemetery she was remembered as a caring aunt to her seven-year-old nephew
00:16:04
and headstand was engraved with the words we will always carry you in our hearts On
00:16:13
June 7 more than three weeks after Martha's murder the Los Angeles City Council offered a 25-thousand dollar
00:16:21
reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible meanwhile investigators
00:16:28
focused on identifying violent voice members who matched the suspects sketch there was a difficult task given that
00:16:36
the gang was largely comprised of young Latinos with short dark hair and facial hair yet there was one man in particular
00:16:44
that stood out 24 year-old Juan Catalan he was the younger brother of mario catalan jose ledesma schoo accused in
00:16:55
the murders of Enric a Acosta and Cristian Vargas Juan had been in court during the preliminary hearing in which
00:17:03
Martha Puebla had testified and he lived five blocks from a Lowell Street he had a familial connection to the
00:17:12
violent boys and investigators believed his appearance matched the sketch of Martha's killer lead detectives pinna
00:17:20
and Rodriguez were certain Juan was motivated by a desire to protect his older brother from information Martha
00:17:27
could provide at trial using a pre-existing mugshot of Juan Catalan the detectives created a
00:17:35
six-pack and showed it to witnesses of Martha Puebla shmurda including her friend the Lucas to determine if any
00:17:43
could make a positive identification Juan and Mario Catalan had always been close the brothers were raised in Sun
00:17:56
Valley where they were expected to follow in the footsteps of their hard-working father who owned a
00:18:01
machinery store by the time the siblings were in their teens Juan dropped out of
00:18:07
high school to work for the family business as expected but Mario had started associating with criminals and
00:18:13
participating in illicit activities intrigued by the loot his older brother would bring home from his crime sprees
00:18:21
one agreed to act as Mario's getaway driver a decision which landed him in jail prison rattled Juan and he was
00:18:30
determined never to return therefore when Mario joined the Vineland boys Juan didn't follow suit instead he
00:18:39
continued working with his father and started a family with a woman named Alma their relationship was punctuated with
00:18:47
disputes and by the time their two daughters were aged four and six the couple were living apart though
00:18:54
refused to give up on their relationship at six a.m. on Tuesday August 12 2003 Alma drove Juan to work while the
00:19:05
couple's four-year-old daughter sat in the backseat when L must stopped the car three vehicles appeared and parked
00:19:13
crossways in front of them cutting off their path one exited the vehicle and was immediately swarmed by ten armed
00:19:21
undercover police officers who ordered him to get on his knees he complied and was then pinned to the ground and taken
00:19:29
into custody Juan was driven to a North Hollywood police station where he was kept in a
00:19:36
cell for several hours before being led into an interview room to be questioned by detectives Pinner and to Rodriguez
00:19:44
he asked why he had been taken into custody but both detectives insisted that he knew exactly why when asked
00:19:53
about his whereabouts three months earlier on the night of May 12 2003 Juan said he couldn't recall the detectives
00:20:02
then reminded him of his right to remain silent and informed him that he was under arrest for the murder of 16
00:20:08
year-old martha puebla juan was told he resembled the composite sketch of Martha's killer and that witnesses had
00:20:17
identified him as the gunman the detectives produced three six-packs that featured hawaiians old mug shot
00:20:25
which had been circled in each written in Spanish underneath one were the words this is the guy who I saw doing the
00:20:33
shooting accompanied by a signature detective Rodriguez remarked you see the pictures don't lie Beth Silverman was a
00:20:51
tough smart prosecutor who held a coveted record for never losing a murder conviction her colleagues had nicknamed
00:20:59
her the sniper because she always sought the death penalty it was no different when she helmed the trial for martha
00:21:06
puebla shmurda with Silverman informing the county court that she would be seeking a death sentence for Juan
00:21:12
Catalan in the meantime one was sent to a high-security prison to await further proceedings he was stripped naked
00:21:22
subjected to a full body search and crammed into a small room with a hundred other prisoners before they were issued
00:21:28
with uniforms he was then assigned to an overcrowded cell where he was given a thin mattress on the concrete ground to
00:21:37
sleep on conditions were filthy with the shower drains backing up to the point that the prisoners felt as though they
00:21:44
were bathing in their own filth a cousin of Juan's was employed as a filing clerk
00:21:51
for a law firm and would often rave about one of the officers criminal defense attorneys Tod Milne
00:21:58
he once told one that if he ever got into trouble Melnik would be the one to call - which
00:22:04
one responded bro nobody he needs a lawyer after he had been charged with Martha Puebla shmurda Juan reached out
00:22:15
to Melnick who prided himself on working hard for his clients in cases that required in-depth investigation and
00:22:22
analysis Melnick claimed to overshadow seasoned Los Angeles Police Department detectives when it came to diligent
00:22:30
fact-finding and using the latest techniques and technologies a satisfied client of Melnick's was quoted as saying
00:22:39
in a town of charlatans this guy is the real deal Melnick visited Juan in prison to decide
00:22:48
whether to take on his case when the accused killer professed his innocence and explained that he was being framed
00:22:55
by the police Melnick felt he was being sincere he later told Karen affairs program 60
00:23:02
minutes I could tell by Juan's demeanor I could tell by his voice he was an easy
00:23:09
read one attended multiple court hearings in the lead-up to his murder trial during which he was shackled to a
00:23:18
chair while the legal teams briefly conversed he wasn't familiar with legal terminology and relied on his lawyer to
00:23:27
keep him informed at one hearing Melnick advised this client that it was important that he looked straight ahead
00:23:33
when entering the court as Martha Pueblo as entire family was inside Juan shuffled in with his head bowed and once
00:23:42
seated stared straight ahead his members of Martha's family solved when the hearing was over Antoine was being led
00:23:50
away Martha's mother screamed at him in Spanish I will never forgive you for what you
00:23:56
did to my daughter Juan's family visited him in prison and remained supportive with his religious mother telling him
00:24:06
that God would not allow him to be convicted of a crime he didn't commit and that justice would prevail
00:24:13
although Juan refused to let his young daughters see him inside he maintained a regular contact with them and his
00:24:20
girlfriend Alma over the telephone during one call Elma presented Juan with a possible alibi for the night Martha
00:24:29
was murdered Juan had always been a die-hard sports fan as a child he dreamed of growing up to become a
00:24:38
professional basketball er and followed the LA Lakers basketball team religiously when it came to
00:24:45
American football he was a San Francisco 49ers fan he inherited his family's love
00:24:51
for be LA Dodgers baseball team with some of his earliest memories involving sharing a pair of binoculars with his
00:24:58
brother as they sat side by side in the stadium's cheapest seats known as the nosebleed section it was a passion that
00:25:06
he maintained into adulthood and when Juan was 18 years old he watched as a player described as a Joe Schmo from the
00:25:14
Dodger bench hit a two-run homer in the ninth inning the ball sailed into the left-field pavilion where Juan was
00:25:22
seated and he caught it flawlessly fulfilling a lifelong dream although Juan's life could be unpredictable at
00:25:30
times his love of sports was constant he attended every Dodgers and a Lakers game
00:25:36
he could usually in the nosebleed section but was occasionally lucky enough to secure good seats
00:25:43
it was keen to share his passion with these daughters and although six-year-old Melissa didn't really
00:25:49
understand what was happening at the games she loved the atmosphere one day in May
00:25:57
of 2003 her customer from wons work gave him four last-minute tickets to a game at Dodger Stadium where the home team
00:26:05
was playing against the Atlanta Braves one took his daughter Melissa his cousin and another friend to the event it had
00:26:15
been a tired game coming into the final inning but the Dodgers ultimately lost 11 to 4
00:26:26
hewan kept all the sporting memorabilia and souvenirs from the games he attended
00:26:31
and was certain he retained the ticket stubs from the match he gave Alma a list of places he thought they might be but
00:26:39
she was unable to find them Todd Melnick instructed her to turn her entire apartment upside down if she had to and
00:26:47
in a dresser drawer she found two ticket stubs to the Dodgers versus Braves game
00:26:53
which took place at Dodger Stadium on May 12 2003 Nanak warned his client that the tickets alone wouldn't be enough to
00:27:04
secure his release all they proved was that somebody had been at the game that night but not necessarily Huang himself
00:27:12
Juan's cousin and friend who joined him at the game both are vouched for his presence but
00:27:18
Mel Nichkhun didn't consider them to be reliable witnesses for the defense the tickets featured seat numbers so Milne
00:27:28
who visited Dodger Stadium and too was given access to footage captured by a video recording system known as Dodger
00:27:34
cam he constantly piant the crowd and projected real-time footage onto the large display screens within the stadium
00:27:43
Nanak watched the footage taken on may 12 2003 pausing frame-by-frame whenever the camera passed the area where one
00:27:52
allegedly sat with his daughter Nanak could make out two occupants in the seats but the footage was too blurry
00:28:01
to make a positive identification he also watched the entire three-hour long match that had been broadcast by the Fox
00:28:09
Sports channel but shots taken around the pivotal seeding section were too low a
00:28:14
resolution to identify individual crowd members known if reported his efforts to
00:28:22
warn who suddenly remembered another detail from the game at one point he and Melissa were returning to their seats
00:28:30
after a food and bathroom break but their path was blocked by a television camera that didn't look like the ones
00:28:36
used at the stadium a production assistant asked one if he would mind waiting a few minutes while they filmed
00:28:43
their shot Juan could still see the pitch from behind the camera so he politely agreed he recalled that a
00:28:52
balding Caucasian man was walking up and down the stairs yelling in full view of the camera but
00:28:58
Juan was too focused on the game to remember anything else after a short while the production assistant permitted
00:29:06
the father and daughter to return to their seats one also recalled that someone in his section had mentioned to
00:29:14
that Super Dave Osborne was in attendance but Juan didn't recognize the name Todd Melnick learned that the Dodgers
00:29:22
allowed outside film and television crews to shoot footage in the stadium from time to time though what was rare
00:29:29
for it to take place during an actual game so as to avoid inconveniencing the paying fans Monique who was given access
00:29:39
to the stadium's records and on may 12 2003 there was just the one entry in the filming log
00:29:46
Nanak called the accompanying phone number and a voice on the other end answered by stating HBO as it turned out
00:29:56
the American cable television network had been at the stadium that night filming an episode of their hit comedy
00:30:03
series Curb Your Enthusiasm Super Dave Osborne who Quan overheard was present at the game was American comedian and
00:30:13
dr. Bob Einstein who played a character on Curb Your Enthusiasm named Marty funkhauser
00:30:31
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90s sitcom Seinfeld and is rumored to have been the inspiration for the show's neurotic and Patti character of George
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Costanza in Curb Your Enthusiasm Larry plays a fictionalized version of himself with all his neuroses and quirks
00:35:21
exaggerated for comedic effect the show premiered on October 15 2004 Larry a semi-retired television writer and
00:35:31
producer in Los Angeles focusing primarily on the many folk as he makes when faced with certain social
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conventions and expectations when Todd Melnick contacted HBO to request the footage taken in Dodger Stadium on May
00:35:48
12 2003 he was met with reluctance that particular episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm had an aired yet and was
00:35:57
scheduled to premiere the following spring HBO was strict about pre-production footage being viewed by
00:36:04
anyone outside the network but Melnick explained to the situation and pressed executives stating it was a matter of
00:36:11
life or death HBO told him that was unlikely he would be able to locate his client in their
00:36:19
footage as there had only been two cameras in operation and two there were more than 56,000 patrons at the game
00:36:26
nevertheless Melnick was so passionate and convincing that his request was put through to Larry David himself noting
00:36:36
the attorneys bizarre story could have been the plot for an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm
00:36:41
Larry permitted Melnick to view the footage Melnik visited the HBO studios in Santa Monica where he was placed in
00:36:49
an editing room with the show's producers and granted access to all the rough footage from episode 7 of season 4
00:36:56
titled the carpool lane in the episode Larry is in a hurry to get to a Dodgers game and hi as a sex worker to ride as a
00:37:06
passenger in his car so that he can use the highways carpool lane upon arriving to the stadium Larry is
00:37:13
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
00:37:21
attempt to join his friend Marty funkhauser who is sitting in a field level seat while viewing the footage
00:37:29
Nanak recognized the stand where Juan was allegedly seated with his daughter but there was no sign of them on the
00:37:37
fifth or sixth tape the camera was following Larry as he ascended the stairs from the field level seats when a
00:37:44
man in a white Dodgers t-shirt with the number 27 on the back walked in the shot
00:37:49
he was eating a hotdog and holding the hand of a little girl seemingly oblivious that he was about to cut off
00:37:56
the star of the show as the man turned to take his seat his face was clearly visible no Nick nearly left out of his
00:38:06
chair and pointed at the screen announcing that's him right there roll that tape back despite the
00:38:19
breakthrough the footage was time-stamped at 9:10 p.m. Lowell Street was a 16 mile northwesterly drive from
00:38:27
Dodger Stadium and the journey typically took upwards of 30 minutes notwithstanding inner city baseball game
00:38:34
traffic as Martha Pueblo was killed an hour and 20 minutes later at 10:32 p.m. Mel Nikki knew the prosecution could
00:38:43
argue it was possible that Juan had left the stadium before the game ended shortly after 10:00 p.m. to carry out
00:38:50
the shooting complicating matters was the fact that Juan himself had even admitted to being on Lowell Street ten
00:38:58
minutes after Martha's murder he was dropping off his cousin after the game who lived 150 yards away
00:39:05
however he insisted he would never have left the game early when it was the tie going into the ninth inning when Monique
00:39:14
asked for further proof Kwan remembered he had purchased souvenir baseball cards
00:39:19
at the end of the match however as he had paid for them with cash there was no record of the transaction
00:39:27
cellphone records revealed that at 10:13 p.m. Wan had taken a 49 second phone call from Alma this detail reminded
00:39:37
Melnick of his time spent observing the infamous 1995 trial of NFL player OJ Simpson who was accused of murdering his
00:39:46
ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman after he was charged with the murders
00:39:53
Simpson refused to turn himself in and was involved in a low-speed police pursuit which was televised than too
00:40:00
watched by an estimated 95 million viewers Simpson was using a cell phone during the chase and police were able to
00:40:08
confirm his location by verifying which cell towers the device was pinging off at the time Melnick decided to use this
00:40:17
same technique in subpoenaed Hawaiian Catalans phone records from the night of May 12 2003 they confirmed that the 1013
00:40:27
p.m. call from Alma had pinged off a tower alongside Dodger Stadium even if Juan had been able to reach
00:40:36
Lowell Street within the 20 minute time frame to execute Martha Puebla at 10:32 p.m. witnesses had seen the perpetrators
00:40:45
vehicle circling the neighborhood around 10:00 p.m. when Juan was still at Dodger
00:40:50
Stadium Juan's preliminary hearing commenced in January 2004 Todd Melnick presented all
00:41:01
of the evidence he had collected that placed his client at Dodger Stadium immediately prior to Martha Puebla
00:41:07
shmurda Holland's young daughter Melissa took the stand and testified to attending the Dodgers game with her
00:41:14
father during which she remembered they bought ice cream and souvenir baseball cards
00:41:20
the prosecution remained a dubious about hawaiians alibi questioning why he didn't mention it when he was first
00:41:27
interviewed by detectives Juan maintained he had been in shock at the time and unable to think clearly tapes
00:41:36
of his initial police interrogation were played in court where in a worried Juan
00:41:41
continuously asserted his innocence - detectives Martin Pino Antoine Rodriguez on three occasions he pleaded to sit a
00:41:50
polygraph test but the detectives ignored the request and continued to accuse him of Martha pueblos murder the
00:41:59
prosecution had a learned of Juan's baseball game alibi during pretrial proceedings but had dismissed it
00:42:05
convinced he had enough time to leave the stadium and to carry out the crime his cell phone records proved otherwise
00:42:13
and to serve to highlight the failure of the case detectives to carry out a thorough investigation to find out this
00:42:20
information for themselves it also indicated their reluctance to try and clear their prime suspect Melnick also
00:42:30
pointed out that there were discrepancies in the eyewitness accounts of Martha's killer who was described as
00:42:35
having facial hair beneath his lower lip which one never had the killer was also
00:42:41
said to have a stocky frame between five foot eight and five foot ten inches tall
00:42:46
while Juan was 6 foot one with a lean build Lucas Martha's friend who witnessed her murder provided this
00:42:55
description to police and appeared in court as the prosecution's star witness when asked if he could see the shooter
00:43:02
in the courthouse Lucas pointed directly at Juan Catalan who silently shook his head while judge Leslie Dunn considered
00:43:13
Lucas to be credible and honest she noted that the execution had occurred swiftly in a dimly lit Street
00:43:20
additionally Lucas panicked and fled the scene immediately therefore his memory might not be accurate judge Dunn
00:43:29
ultimately accepted the HBO footage and phone tower evidence as proof of Hawaiian Catalans alibi and ruled that
00:43:37
it was near impossible for him to have reached Martha's house in time to carry out the shooting therefore she concluded
00:43:44
he could not be committed to stand trial for a crime that carried the death penalty unable to comprehend what the
00:43:53
judge was saying Juan turned to his attorney who clarified it's over overwhelmed by the news that he was free
00:44:03
to go Juan began to cry Juan Catalan was released immediately with camera crews capturing him in an emotional embrace
00:44:14
with Alma and their two daughters he later told reporters to hear the words from the judges mouth I just broke down
00:44:23
in tears it was the happiest moment in my life during his five and a half months in prison he had lost 30 pounds
00:44:32
and his first request was for a coca-cola Juan gave Tod Melnick one last hugs before departing with his family to
00:44:41
purchase the drink no Nico later told the New York Post the newspaper if Juan had been home the night of the shooting
00:44:50
he might be on death row right now that's how crazy this was only by happenstance did he get tickets to go to
00:44:59
the game that night only by happenstance would Curb Your Enthusiasm be filming in
00:45:05
his section that night two days after Juan's release he was forced to report back to the County Jail
00:45:13
due to an alleged clerical error Nanak believed the matter would be settled within 24 hours but Juan was held in
00:45:22
custody for another two weeks after his release Juan purchased the box set of Curb Your Enthusiasm although he had
00:45:33
since become a fan of the sitcom due to the impact that had on his life he was embarrassed to admit that before his
00:45:40
ordeal he had never heard of it or Larry David once dated from getting the tickets on the day of to being caught on
00:45:50
camera what are the chances that out of 56 to 58 thousand seats they're filming on my aisle I look at it like I did win
00:45:59
the lottery because I got a new opportunity at life with my family I'm so happy and grateful for that Larry
00:46:09
David are later reflected on the vital role he's show played in securing Juan's freedom remarking I tell people that
00:46:18
I've done one decent thing in my life albeit inadvertently 1 & 2 Larry eventually met and after being warned
00:46:27
the comedian was a germaphobe one was pleasantly surprised when Larry shook his hand
00:46:37
although Juan's release was a positive outcome for him and his family it was devastating for Martha Puebla as parents
00:46:44
as they didn't speak English they relied on the police to inform them about the case and court proceedings and had been
00:46:52
assured that their daughter's murderer had been caught and would pay for his crime
00:46:58
when the case against Juan was dropped they couldn't understand the sudden turn of events and thought that he may have
00:47:04
been led off on a technicality or by the work of a clever lawyer confused and grief-stricken Martha's mother went to
00:47:13
Juan's workplace and screamed for him to come out and get what he deserved but he
00:47:18
wasn't there at the time following his ordeal Juan Catalan was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder
00:47:27
in mid-2004 he sued the city of Los Angeles the Los Angeles Police Department and four detectives
00:47:35
including Martin Pina and juan Rodriguez for violating his civil rights in failing to investigate his alibi or
00:47:43
pursue any other leads he also accused the law enforcement of breaching department regulations by encouraging a
00:47:51
witness to pick him out of a photographic lineup and sued them for negligence false arrest defamation and infliction
00:47:59
of emotional distress for the stress and anguish caused he sought an undisclosed
00:48:06
financial compensation Juan told reporters what they did to me was very wrong they put me through hell
00:48:16
I was arrested at gunpoint in front of my four-year-old daughter when she was crying they took me away from my family
00:48:24
my parents almost lost their house and small business but mainly they took my life away I was in jail for five months
00:48:33
for nothing his civil suit attorney Gary Castleman told the media no amount of money can replace a loss like this this
00:48:45
was a nightmare that only by good fortune turned out right the detectives in this case didn't do their jobs
00:48:53
properly and they didn't follow proper procedures Tod Milne did the job the police were supposed to have done and
00:49:00
are paid to do it was incompetence they took the easy way out Castleman explained that hawaiian
00:49:09
consequently had to spend a tremendous sum of money to clear his name remarking now it's their turn to pay in a shocking
00:49:20
revelation while under cross-examination detective spinner and Rodriguez admitted
00:49:26
to fabricating evidence to implicate Juan Catalan in Martha Puebla shmurda in the United States detectives are not
00:49:35
obligated to tell the truth when interrogating suspects in the permitter to lie in an attempt to elicit a
00:49:41
confession the liars most commonly told relate to non-existent physical evidence such as
00:49:48
falsely claiming to offend a suspects fingerprints or DNA at a crime scene detectives can also lie about having
00:49:57
high witnesses or confessions from accomplices in hawaiians case detectives pinna and Rodriguez admitted to
00:50:05
doctoring the sixpack photographic lineups presented to Juan during his initial interrogation the pair confessed
00:50:14
that they were the ones who circled Juan's image and that they had forged the signature and the words of a
00:50:20
supposed the witness that read this is the guy who I saw doing the shooting they justified their actions calling the
00:50:29
tactic a ruse to try to elicit a confession detectives pinna and Rodriguez remained on the Homicide Squad
00:50:37
throughout the long and drawn-out civil suit martha puebla case technically remained open but little was done to
00:50:46
investigate it as the police still believed in hawaiians guilt after three years the civil suit finally reached its
00:50:54
conclusion in March 2007 the court found that the detectives had probable cause for arresting Vaughn and
00:51:04
deducted in good faith when they tricked him into thinking witnesses had identified him as the killer through the
00:51:09
doctored 6-pack Vaughn was awarded a three hundred and twenty thousand dollars an amount considered by some to
00:51:17
be woefully inadequate although Juan could have continued to fight the city of Los Angeles for an
00:51:24
improved outcome he decided against appealing as there was a possibility he could lose his compensation altogether
00:51:36
in January 2005 prosecutors began trial preparations for Vineland boys gang member Jose Ledesma for the 2002 murders
00:51:46
of Christian Vargas and Enrique Acosta during this time spanish-speaking police officers were asked to listen to
00:51:54
original recordings of several telephone calls Ledesma had made from prison following
00:51:59
his arrest in late 2002 Ledesma called a man he referred to as coke star asking do you know the [ __ ] that lives
00:52:11
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
00:52:21
your toes homie and don't get caught coke star was a fellow Vineland Boys member named havea cover Rubeus covered
00:52:33
Rubeus agreed to walk a straight The Killing ledesma had requested and persuaded two other gang members
00:52:39
Raul Robledo and to the waist send eval to assist the men visited a firing range
00:52:45
to test the gun they considered using to carry out the execution but deemed it unacceptable and chose a 9-millimeter
00:52:53
handgun instead police had been completely unaware that the order to kill Martha Puebla had been
00:53:01
recorded months before her death during their calls Ledesma and Covarrubias had communicated
00:53:09
in a mix of English and Spanish at the time authorities employed an external company to translate and
00:53:16
transcribe their recordings twice but they had done so poorly and their transcriptions were difficult to
00:53:23
comprehend it wasn't until over two years later when spanish-speaking officers listened to the raw audio of
00:53:30
the calls themselves that their significance was fully realized not only did they implicate Ledesma and the
00:53:38
Vineland boys in Martha Puebla shmurda but they completely vindicated Juan Catalan who wouldn't have been arrested
00:53:46
and charged had the tapes been heard properly in 2002 they also revealed that 18 days after Martha's murder
00:53:55
Ledesma phoned a different associate and used the coded language to request that
00:54:00
fellow gang member Carlos Casillas kill another teenage girl who was also acting
00:54:05
as a police informant while jose Ledesma awaited trial an 18-month investigation
00:54:12
into the violent boys came to an end the inquiry stemmed from a 2003 incident in
00:54:20
which a gang member shot and killed 26 year-old Burbank Police Officer Matthew Pavelka and seriously injured his
00:54:27
partner Gregory Campbell Matthew's murder prompted law enforcement to take action in dismantling the Vineland boys
00:54:36
task force operation silent night was created consisting of 1,300 officers from various local and federal
00:54:44
departments and agencies more than 1 million dollars 75 firearms and 300 pounds of cocaine heroin and
00:54:54
amphetamines were confiscated from the gang 23 finaland boys members were arrested with Jose Ledezma and Xavier
00:55:03
coax de Covarrubias among those who were charged the gang members faced the 56 count federal indictment for crimes
00:55:12
committed over a 10-year period including charges for racketeering and violating federal drug and weapon laws
00:55:20
Burbank Police Chief Thomas hopeful told reporters it is the ultimate affront to
00:55:27
attack and kill those that protect others the gang has terrorized people of Burbank for years
00:55:33
today is our mageddon they will have new turf to defend in the federal prison system in January 2008 nearly five years
00:55:48
after Martha pueblos murder Jose ledesma struck a plea deal with the city of Los Angeles to avoid the death
00:55:56
penalty he confessed to the murders of Enric a Acosta and Cristian Vargas and admitted to soliciting the murders of
00:56:04
both Martha Puebla and another teenage witness fellow Vineland Boise members Javier Covarrubias and ROH Robledo
00:56:13
pleaded guilty to locating and killing Martha Puebla under ledesma instructions with Robledo confessing to pulling the
00:56:21
trigger Ledesma Covarrubias and Robledo we're each sentenced to life in prison a fourth gang member 22 year-old Luis
00:56:32
Sandoval who allegedly drove the men to Martha's home was also charged during the court proceedings
00:56:42
Martha's parents received assistance from a translator and for the first time they learned of the role the detectives
00:56:50
Martin Pina and juan rodriguez had played in their daughter's death just as they had done in their effort to
00:56:58
elicit a confession from Juan Catalan it was revealed that the detectives had also falsified the six-pack used to
00:57:05
during their interrogation of Jose Ledesma despite the obvious danger presented to Martha Puebla detectives
00:57:14
Pina and Rodriguez had circled to let desmos photo and forged Martha's signature along with the message this is
00:57:22
who shot my friend's boyfriend Ledesma was convinced that the identification was genuine and to that
00:57:30
Martha was a police informant but in reality she had been so fearful of the violent boys that she protected Ledesma
00:57:37
refusing to offer any information to police or in court that might implicate him the gang murdered Martha eleven days
00:57:46
after she reluctantly testified at ledesma as preliminary hearing on May 13 2008 Martha's parents filed a complaint
00:57:57
against the city of Los Angeles Police Chief William Bratton and detectives Martin Pina and juan Rodriguez they
00:58:05
claimed that police had deliberately withheld information that Martha was being used as bait in their
00:58:11
investigation and that her murder was a foreseeable result of their actions the complaints proceedings dragged out for
00:58:19
two years with a variety of lawyers working for Martha's parents on a no-win no-fee basis
00:58:27
police maintained - that Martha and her family had been offered protection but had turned it down one officer testified
00:58:35
that he recalled hearing a discussion about the subject but was unsure what came of it Martha's parents denied this
00:58:43
which was backed by a detailed log the detectives kept of their investigation it contained no record of them having
00:58:51
contact with Martha's family after they showed the doctored six-pack to ledesma the family's lawyer told the court
00:59:00
Martha Puebla was murdered because the LAPD put a bull's-eye on her back by telling a gang member
00:59:07
that she was a snitch in return the lawyer representing the city of Los Angeles and the LA pay day
00:59:15
claimed it was Martha's testimony at Ledesma is preliminary hearing that led to her murder
00:59:21
even though Martha didn't accuse the Ledezma in court she had testified to other information such as his gang
00:59:29
affiliation which would have been enough and the Vineland boys to seek retaliation in April 2010 a jury found
00:59:39
that detectives pinna and Rodriguez had acted negligently maliciously and direct
00:59:44
lessly Anton violated the due process rights of Martha and her parents their negligence was determined to be a
00:59:53
substantial contributing factor in Martha's death but the jury found that Martha and her parents had also acted
01:00:00
negligently they apportioned 20% of the responsibility for Martha's death to the
01:00:07
detectives and the remaining 80% to Martha in tow parents for the wrongful death of their daughter
01:00:16
Martha's parents were awarded a total of $1 in compensation when Jose let desmos
01:00:24
defense attorney was asked for her opinion on the deceptive tactics used by detectives to charge her client she
01:00:30
remarked to the detectives Martha Puebla didn't matter she was just another reluctant witness an anonymous
01:00:41
Los Angeles public defender told the LA Weekly newspaper and today wonder why people don't want to come forward
01:00:55
neither detective was formally penalized for their conduct and both remained in the LAPD Martin pinna was eventually
01:01:04
reassigned to juvenile cases while hawaiian rodriguez was transferred to various departments including the vice
01:01:11
unit and missing persons division until his retirement in 2019 lying to suspects to elicit a confession
01:01:20
is still permitted in the United States although the treatment of Martha Puebla and Juan Catalan has raised some
01:01:27
concerns about the use of such tactics in response to a feature article on the case published by the Los Angeles Times
01:01:35
in July 2008 the LAPD announced they would be making changes to their training detectives must in our way the
01:01:44
benefit of lying to a suspect against the potential danger the lies may create they also have an obligation to offer
01:01:52
police protection to anyone they believe they may have placed in danger in February 2000 19 another raid on Los
01:02:02
Angeles Street gangs resulted in the arrests of 27 members of the Vineland boys 54 firearms into nearly 4,000 grams
01:02:11
of methamphetamine were seized and 245 members including a number who were already incarcerated were indicted for a
01:02:20
range of crimes Juan Catalan used his compensation payout to attend college and obtain an associate degree in
01:02:29
general education and is currently working towards his bachelor's degree in business administration he visits
01:02:37
underprivileged schools to speak to students about the importance of education and to assure them that their
01:02:44
past circumstances and upbringing doesn't determine their future he visits his older brother Mario imprisoned
01:02:52
regularly and provides him with money to purchase permitted items such as candy and soda but he's determined never to
01:02:59
see the inside of a prison cell ever again although Juan has not been able to speak
01:03:07
to Martha Puebla spam Lee he acknowledges that they too are victims in May 2000 19 he was interviewed by
01:03:15
comedian Felipe Esparza for his podcast what's up bull and stated I feel for the
01:03:23
family they lost their daughter they tried to sue the LAPD and they got $1 $1 what sort of slap in the face is that in
01:03:36
2017 media services provider and production company Netflix released the documentary about Juan's ordeal entitled
01:03:45
longshot Juan was reluctant to participate but eventually agreed as a favor to his former attorney
01:03:53
Todd Melnick the pair remained friends often playing basketball and attending Lakers and Dodgers games together in the
01:04:02
documentary Melnick who Juan refers to as his white knight said we used all kinds of things Hollywood TV shows
01:04:12
modern technology and good old-fashioned detective work to piece together things
01:04:18
to determine where he was now he is standing here my friend senior vice president and general counsel for the
01:04:29
Dodgers San Fernandez posed the question what if we hadn't done the deal with Larry David what if the camera crew
01:04:38
hadn't gone to that aisle on the field double what if wons daughter had decided she didn't want to go to the ballgame
01:04:45
what if he hadn't made the phone call what if what if what if baseball remains an important part of lions life and when
01:04:56
people ask why he is a fan of the Dodgers he tells them for one thing they saved my life
01:05:16
[Music] you