Hawaii Loa Ridge murder suspect takes stand in plea change hearing

HONOLULU (KHON2) — The Hawaii Loa Ridge murder suspect was back in court on Monday to see if a judge would allow him to withdraw his guilty plea.

Get Hawaii’s latest morning news delivered to your inbox, sign up for News 2 You

Baron, now 25 years old, took the stand and claimed he didn’t understand the plea deal when it was given to him.

Baron took the stand with his new interpreter who spoke Spanish, explained how he came to the United States from Colombia back in 2018 and said he could speak basic English by the time he came to Hawaii in January 2022.

Baron’s current defense attorney asked if his attorney at the time went to OCCC without an interpreter and laid out three offers to Baron, one of which was a state offer.

When asked what the letter laid out, Baron told his interpreter “Basically, that this was the only deal we were going to get, and it was what was best for me and it was probably the only thing I could get so I wouldn’t die in jail.”

Baron claimed he felt intimidated to sign the offer because his attorneys said he would die in prison.

He told the interpreter “If I kept going to court we were probably not going to win, I was going to die in jail because there were some details not favorable to me, so this was the best deal we could get.”

When KHON2 spoke to the attorneys back in March 2024, they told us Baron was ready to accept responsibility for the crime and the deal recommends giving him the chance to be on parole after 20 years in prison.

Find more Hawaii, Oahu, Maui and Kauai news here

Baron claims he did not understand even though the court provided an interpreter during his plea deal.

If the court allows him to withdraw the plea, Baron will go to trial as originally charged. He is scheduled back in court on Oct. 25.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KHON2.