A Dire Encounter with Justice

In May 2003, 16-year-old Martha Puebla was shot in the head on the doorstep of her Los Angeles home, days after testifying in a gangland murder trial. Police arrested 24-year-old Juan Catalan at gunpoint, alleging that he’d carried out the hit for his gangster brother Mario. Not only did Catalan not commit the crime, but he had an alibi. At the time of Puebla’s cold-blooded killing, he was at Dodger Stadium with his six-year-old daughter. Frustratingly, though, Catalan’s lawyer couldn’t find clear enough TV footage to prove it. Catalan faced death row if found guilty at trial. Even worse, the prosecuting attorney was unbeaten in murder cases and nicknamed “Sniper” because she liked to pick off defendants with the death penalty. Then came the head-spinning twist. It just so happened that an episode of the HBO show “Curb Your Enthusiasm” was also being shot at the ballpark that night. Finding Juan in the episode was the last hope this innocent man’s life.