Prosecutor handling Hawaii Loa murder case is fired

Honolulu Prosecutor Steve Alm this week fired the deputy prosecutor handling the case against the man accused of murdering a Hawaii Loa Ridge resident and concealing the body in a cement-filled bathtub.

Juan Baron is accused of strangling 73-year-old Gary Ruby, 50 years his senior, and stealing from him in 2022.

Baron’s lawyer Myles Breiner raised allegations that Catherine Lowenberg, captain of the Honolulu Prosecutor’s Office’s Elder Abuse unit, used photos of Ruby in PowerPoint presentation referring to “predators” and “lonely adults.”

Breiner filed a motion July 25 to have the murder case dismissed for prosecutorial misconduct, or alternatively to have the Prosecutor’s Office disqualified or Lowenberg disqualified. The motion was heard Aug. 29 by Circuit Judge Catherine Remigio and will be continued Oct. 24.

“I was elected with a mandate to restore trust to the Honolulu Prosecutor’s Office and bring accountability back. I take any act of prosecutorial misconduct seriously,” Alm said.

Alm said he will assign a new captain to the Elder Abuse team, whose primary job is to go out into the community and talk to groups of kupuna to warn them about scams, to not give out personal information.

Alm said he was aware of the allegations when the motion to dismiss was filed, but the decision to fire Lowenberg came following an investigation.

“When we get allegations of prosecutorial misconduct, sometimes it’s wrong, just a mistake that was made, so we have to investigate,” he said. “It takes a fair amount of time. We have to look at the specifics of alleged misconduct. Was it a one-time thing or did it happen multiple times? Did he or she report it to their supervisor what this misconduct was?”

Other considerations include whether the deputy took responsibility for his or her actions or try to blame others. He said his office must determine whether the action merits a sanction, something less than a dismissal or a dismissal.

“In this case, when we looked at the whole history of things, we decided dismissal is appropriate,” Alm said. “All of her cases” — which number in the low 30s of pending jury trials — “are being looked at and will be reassigned.”

THE PHOTOS Lowenberg showed in presentations included the deceased Ruby, one of the tub in which his body was found, a warranty deed with Ruby listed as grantor and Baron as grantee, a copy of the title to Ruby’s car with Baron’s name on it, and photos of Baron.

In addition to second-­degree murder, Baron is charged with two counts of theft and identity theft, for unlawfully exerting control over Ruby’s luxury home and car.

Baron and his then-­boyfriend, Scott Hannon, fled to California, where they were caught. Los Angeles police say Baron confessed to detectives that he staged a suicide by slitting Ruby’s wrists, putting him in the bottom of a bathtub at his home. He then allegedly dumped bags of cement over him and added layers of coffee grounds to mask the smell of the decomposing body. Hannon was not charged.

Lowenberg reportedly gave two presentations for the University of Hawaii Elder Law clinic with 39 slides, and a third presentation with 49 slides to the Oahu Contractors Association.

Such use of evidence in an ongoing case headed for trial has the potential of tainting any future jury pool, Breiner argues, questioning how many other presentations were made.

BREINER SAID Lowenberg’s actions could negatively affect not just her other trial cases, but those handled by other deputies in the Elder Abuse unit. He requested from the Prosecutor’s Office copies of any other presentations given by her or others but did not receive any.

He said that according to information he obtained, Lowenberg asked the deputies she oversaw for photos from ongoing cases to be used for other presentations to seniors.

Breiner also cites “noteworthy conduct” by Lowenberg in the Baron case, saying that in a court filing she identifies a Spanish-­speaking deputy prosecutor who was assigned to listen to a number of recorded Oahu Community Correctional Center phone calls Baron made while jailed, but that the defense was not provided with any of the phone calls.

The motion says that the prosecution against Baron should be dismissed because the deputy prosecutor’s misconduct has caused irreparable injury to his constitutional rights to an impartial jury and tainted the presumption of innocence.

“Public safety is my No. 1 goal,” Alm said. “We will be vigorously opposing the motion to dismiss. We hope and expect to succeed.”

He said, “Assuming we’re successful … we fully expect to be ready for trial.”

A different deputy prosecutor has been assigned to the case.