The famous Hollywood producer met Abel Diaz in 2015 in a creative writing class he taught at Sylmar Juvenile Hall. He thought the teenager — accused at 16 of playing a role in the killing of a Downey police officer — was a quick learner with the potential to take college courses while behind bars.
Within days, Scott Budnick, a producer of the “Hangover” movies who is well known for his criminal justice advocacy, became engaged in his defense.
He reached out to several lawyers, and two prominent defense attorneys — Blair Berk and Michael Cavalluzzi — took on the case pro bono.
In a deal brokered with prosecutors in December 2018, Diaz, now 21, admitted his role in the officer’s killing in juvenile court and will be released from detention by age 25. As part of the deal, prosecutors dropped their quest to move Diaz’s case to adult court, where he would have faced a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
‘Hangover’ producer helped a teen convicted in killing. Then the Sheriff's Dept. opened an investigation into him, getting a search warrant for his emails, location history, internet searches, photographs and passwords https://t.co/S3L0lNL3Zo
— Alene Tchekmedyian (@AleneTchek) December 16, 2019
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