The case of a man who wants to withdraw his murder charges continues

The 25-year-old Colombian, who is trying to withdraw his guilty plea in the 2022 murder of 73-year-old Gary Ruby as well as the theft of his home, car and identity, testified Friday about the reasons his mother hired lawyer Myles Breiner was hired to represent him.

Assistant District Attorney Scott Bell questioned Juan Baron about whether Breiner and his associate Kyle Dowd told him they were hired to try to suppress the confession he gave to Los Angeles police detectives on March 10, 2022 had.

Baron, speaking through a Spanish-speaking interpreter, said that was one of the reasons for her hiring.

“Isn’t it true that this case was about conducting a trial for you?” asked Bell.

Baron replied: “No, it was not the final decision.”

“Isn't it true that they told you that they were never hired to actually take the case to trial?” Bell asked.

Baron said, “No.”

Baron's court-appointed attorney, Randall Hironaka, took over the case after Breiner retired from practicing law. Hironaka filed a motion with Judge Catherine Remigio to withdraw Baron's guilty plea on the day of his sentencing. However, this hearing had to be continued until October 7th because the interpreter appointed that day was a potential witness in the case. On October 7th, the hearing had to be continued until Friday due to time running out.

On Friday, the hearing was forced to resume again after Hironaka raised questions about possible violations of confidentiality of attorney and client information by Breiner's office to the state.

This was a violation of the court order, the judge said.

Hironaka said during Friday's hearing that the copy of an Oct. 17, 2023, offer letter from Breiner to the state that was used by Bell as an exhibit was not the copy he sent to Assistant State's Attorney Ayla Weiss.

Weiss had requested a copy of the letter at the Oct. 7 hearing, and Hironaka said he would comply. Weiss was not present Friday as she is now on maternity leave.

Bell said Breiner turned the letter over to prosecutors on Thursday.

The judge asked Hironaka: “Are you concerned that Mr. Breiner is having discussions with the state in violation of the court’s order? There was a condition that confidentiality of the letter was waived. You think maybe they’re talking about things outside of the letter?”

Hironaka said Weiss has had and may continue to have discussions with Breiner and Dowd, and she asked if she could speak to his previous attorneys.

Remigio pointed to the larger issue: “If the case goes to trial, what information do prosecutors have?”

Bell responded that the letter's issuance was “not addressed to the state until October 7” and that Weiss had not previously known about the letter.

At the previous hearing on October 7, Baron told the court that Spanish was his first language and that Breiner and Dowd did not have a Spanish-speaking interpreter to help him understand the plea deal.

Baron claimed Breiner told him he would die in prison if he didn't take the deal.

He testified on October 7 that he believed he would be executed in the electric chair if he did not accept the plea deal and said he did not know there was no death penalty in Hawaii. When asked Friday if his former lawyers ever told him that Hawaii had the death penalty or the electric chair, he said no.

The plea agreement meant Baron would admit to the crimes in exchange for the state not asking the court to extend his sentence. An extension of the sentence would have meant life without the possibility of parole.

Bell attempted to discredit Baron on various aspects of his October 7 testimony. During that testimony, Baron denied knowing that Breiner and Dowd were in negotiations with Weiss as early as October 2023, which was documented in the letter.

Bell asked Baron whether Dowd and Breiner told him that the motion to dismiss the case was filed to gain influence in the negotiations.

“No, they told me what the prosecutor did,” Baron said, referring to the first assistant prosecutor in the case who showed the public photos of the victim while referring to “predators” and “lone adults.”

Bell asked whether the motion to dismiss requested dismissal of the entire case, disqualification of the district attorney's department and disqualification of the original assistant district attorney.

Baron responded “Correct” to each point.

Bell asked whether Dowd and/or Breiner ever told him that it was unlikely the court would dismiss the entire case.

“It wasn’t until they showed me the deal,” he said.