catch (someone or something) in (something)
1. To physically ensnare or capture someone in something, such as a trap. After catching that raccoon in a trap, we set him free far from our house.
2. To see, and perhaps apprehend, someone in the act of doing something (often something nefarious). I can't believe I caught my sweet little girl in a lie!
catch someone or something in something
to trap someone or something in something. We caught David in the snare by accident. My platoon was caught in an enemy ambush.