A man who potentially faced the death penalty after being charged with the murder of a teenage girl was saved by the most unexpected of sources.
In May 2003, 16-year-old Martha Puebla was shot to death on the doorstep of her LA home. Police soon arrested Juan Catalan over her brutal killing and he spent the next six months in jail awaiting trial.
However, Juan always maintained his innocence and said that he was at a Dodgers baseball game with his six-year-old daughter Melissa and two others at the time of the shooting. If this could be proved then it would provide him with an undeniable alibi.
READ MORE: Inside Richard Lewis's touching last post which saw him pay tribute to Curb Your Enthusiasm
But prosecutors were not convinced - after his legal team were unable to find anything that would clear him - and pushed for the death penalty. Plus, an eyewitness had identified him as the person who pulled the trigger.
Then came Larry David. By coincidence, the comedian and actor was filming an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm on the same night at the same stadium. Unaired footage filmed for the episode - specifically season four’s 'The Car Pool Lane' - showed Juan in the crowd at the game.
The murder charges were dropped against him and he was declared an innocent man. His astonishing story was shown in Netflix's 2017 true crime documentary 'The Long Shot' and how he was eventually awarded $320,000 (£239,179) in compensation in 2007.
Juan recalled: "My cousin used to be a filing clerk at a [law] firm, and he would always go on and on about this kick-ass lawyer." He called Todd Melnik, who agreed to be his defence lawyer and began looking at the stadium's multiple camera footage from that night. But there was no sign of the defendant.
However, Juan then remembered that he had seen a camera crew filming near where he was sitting in the ballpark on the night. Todd discovered it was HBO and the show's producers allowed him to look at the relevant footage.
After poring over eight 10-minute tapes, he struck gold. Juan, wearing a no. 27 Kevin Brown shirt, was spotted with his young daughter returning to their seats after buying some snacks. In a twist of further fate, a production assistant initially stopped them so they wouldn't interrupt filming but then changed their mind and allowed them to walk back to their seats.
A thankful Juan said: "Can you imagine had Melissa not asked for a snack?” while Larry himself, who was also interviewed for the documentary, added: “There he was. Pretty cool.”
But Juan wasn't in the clear yet after prosecutors said that the footage was from 9.10pm and the murder happened at 10.32pm. It was conceivable then, they argued, that he could have left the stadium early to commit the atrocious crime. Luckily, mobile phone records showed that Juan had picked up a call from his girlfriend at 10.12pm from a tower near Dodger Stadium. He was finally cleared.
Speaking about that day, Juan recalled: "I felt like the weight of the world [was] off my shoulders. I broke down." While Todd added: "If Juan had been home that night, 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’] be filming in his section that night."
For all the latest news, politics, sports, and showbiz from the USA, go to The Mirror US
Filmmaker Jacob LaMendola said it took a long five years years to make the documentary but that, “I knew that it was worth taking the time to tell it correctly.” He told Indiewire in 2017 that it took a while to convince both Juan and Todd to appear in the feature.
While trying to convince Larry to be interviewed for it was another challenge. He said: "The very first thing he said when he got on the phone was, ‘There’s no way that I would ever be a part of this’. I think I just went into shock… We had gone so far, we had every piece, and I just didn’t want it to end.”
Eventually, he was able to bring around the beloved actor to speak on camera after explaining his efforts to make the film. “So wait, you just want to interview me?" asked Larry, before Jacob said yes. “Okay, I’ll do it,” replied the superstar.
In 2007, it was arranged so that Juan could meet Larry while the latter was working in Santa Monica. He said: “One of the producers said, ‘He’s a big germ guy, so don’t be offended if he doesn’t shake your hand.' But as soon as we walked in, he extended his hand.”
Understandably, Juan is now a big fan of Curb Your Enthusiasm, although he admitted that he hadn't heard of the show in 2003. “That show is hilarious. 'The Carpool Lane’ is obviously my favourite episode," he smiled.