The man accused of strangling a 73-year-old Hawaii Loa Ridge resident in 2022 and concealing his body in a bathtub filled with cement may be ready to change his not-guilty plea.

Juan Baron’s attorney Myles Breiner told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser on Wednesday that he submitted a plea offer on behalf of his client following the firing of the deputy prosecutor on the case.

Breiner on July 25 had filed a motion to dismiss Baron’s case due to prosecutorial misconduct by Deputy Prosecutor Catherine Lowenberg, head of the Honolulu Prosecutor’s Office’s Elder Abuse unit, who allegedly used photos of the victim, Gary Ruby, in a PowerPoint presentation referring to “predators” and “lonely adults.”

A continuation of the hearing on the motion was scheduled Tuesday before Judge Catherine Remigio, but Breiner told the court that a plea offer was sent to the state last week and asked that his motion to dismiss be taken off the calendar for that day.

Deputy Prosecutor Ayla Weiss, who was assigned to the case after Lowenberg was terminated, told the judge that the state would review the plea offer and requested that a status conference be held at a later date. The court set it for Dec. 19.

Breiner told the Star- Advertiser on Wednesday, “If the plea offer is rejected, we will resume the motion to dismiss.”

The Prosecutor’s Office declined comment on any plea negotiations.

Honolulu Prosecutor Steve Alm said he was aware of the allegations of misconduct when the motion to dismiss was filed in July, but the decision to terminate Lowenberg in September came after an investigation. Upon careful review he decided dismissal was appropriate.