A 23-year-old man who was allegedly in the United States illegally and is accused of murdering his elderly friend and covering his body in concrete is seen in a photo trying to escape from an LAPD interrogation room.
Juan Tejedor Baron, 23, was arrested in California early last month in connection with the gruesome murder of 73-year-old Gary Ruby, who was found buried in cement in a bathtub in his $2.2 million Honolulu home.
Baron was caught trying to flee the country after the murder and made it to the Golden State before being arrested March 9 by Los Angeles police officers who “hid him in a crawl space under a closed bench.” ‘ of a Mexico-bound bus, police said.
He was later taken into custody in California, where newly released court documents show he appeared to have attempted to escape.
Surveillance photos of the police interrogation room where Baron was being held show him trying to push and pry open the wall panels, according to KHON.
Juan Tejedor Baron, 23, was seen in surveillance footage apparently trying to escape LAPD custody after he was arrested in connection with the death of his elderly friend last month
The footage showed him sniffing around the wall panels in an apparent attempt to find a way out
Baron has since confessed to the murder – which authorities believe took place sometime in February – and told police he murdered long-time Honolulu resident Ruby – with whom he had a romantic relationship – after learning that he was HIV positive.
He was later extradited to Honolulu and indicted by an Oahu grand jury on second-degree murder, first-degree identity theft and double counts of theft.
Investigators have since discovered that Baron last entered the United States on a tourist visa on June 26, 2018 and was allowed to stay in the country until December 25, 2018.
But prosecutors claim he has “overstayed” his visa and therefore remains in an unlawful status.
That means if he were ever released from Oahu Community Correctional Center, he would be placed in federal custody, according to KITV. It would then be at the discretion of the federal government to initiate deportation proceedings against him.
But for now, he remains in custody without bail awaiting trial on June 5, reports Hawaii News Now. He is scheduled to attend a bail hearing next week.
If convicted, he faces life behind bars with the possibility of parole – as well as the possibility of deportation.
It remains unclear if Baron has hired an attorney to speak for him.
The 23-year-old Baron is now in jail without bond in connection with the gruesome murder of Gary Ruby in Honolulu
The body of longtime Honolulu resident Gary Ruby, 73, was found buried in concrete in a bathtub at his $2.2 million home by Hawaiian police on February 8
Baron has previously confessed to killing Ruby after telling him he had HIV after a sexual encounter in February, which the warrant spurred the suspect to belt-strangle his much older lover, according to the warrant.
“Baron claimed to have had sex with Gary but became angry after Gary told Baron that Gary was HIV positive,” the warrant reads.
Baron stated that shortly thereafter he noticed Gary gagging slightly while eating, to which he “reacted by putting a belt around Gary’s neck and tightening the belt until Gary passed out.”
He also allegedly told police officers he then dragged the older man’s body into the bathtub before slashing Gary’s wrists with a “kitchen knife in an attempt to stage a suicide.”
Cops said Baron then confessed to trying to cover up the murder by pouring cement he found in Ruby’s garage and coffee grounds over the victim’s body in the tub – before realizing he hadn’t had enough had to submerge the victim.
“Baron then drove to Lowe’s to buy four additional bags of concrete and continued to fill the bathtub to cover Gary,” the filing reads.
Baron went on to tell detectives that he then added coffee grounds to the bathtub preparation to better mask the smell of Ruby’s decomposing body.
“Baron stated that he used coffee grounds to cover the cement to hide the smell of decay,” the affidavit reads.
Recently released court documents allege Baron attempted to trade Ruby’s Audi A6 left and right at the BMW and Audi showrooms in Honolulu
Court documents have also revealed that after the murder, Baron made multiple attempts to trade Ruby’s Audi A6 at Audi and BMW showrooms in Honolulu.
At both locations, he allegedly tried to convince sales representatives that Ruby was his uncle, who lived in Texas, and said his “Uncle Gary” was willing to electronically sign any documents required, according to court documents obtained by KITV.
He then allegedly made Ruby’s vehicle insurance available to sales associates at both locations, using Ruby’s personal email to provide a copy of Ruby’s Hawaii driver’s license, and finally presented the Audi general sales manager with a fraudulent title deed dated February 7 Has.
This title said it was issued by the Kapalama Satellite City Hall Department of Motor Vehicles and named Baron as the registered owner.
And court documents also allege that Baron purchased a title deed for Ruby’s house on HawaiiDeed.com, paid $478.53 to wire the transaction using Ruby’s Mastercard, and completed the transaction using Ruby’s personal email address.
He then allegedly attempted to pass off both the multi-million dollar home and the Audi A6 as his own when questioned by lawyers investigating Ruby’s sudden disappearance – telling officials he bought both from the deceased.
But that claim ultimately led to police becoming suspicious of the 23-year-old.
According to the arrest warrant, Baron had told the officer that he had bought the house from Ruby about five years ago. But when the official divulged that title records indicated Ruby had bought the home in 2020, he reportedly “changed his story… and said he bought the residence two years ago and had the deed to it.”
This inconsistency gave officers sufficient suspicion to enter the home the next day, where they found Ruby’s remains in the master bedroom bathtub. A coroner identified the remains as Ruby’s by matching the senior’s blood to the bottom of the tub.
The death was immediately classified as manslaughter, with a then nowhere to be found baron named as the prime suspect.
As police looked for leads, Ruby’s brother told officers that in an email his brother had mentioned “a new love interest named Juan” who was “significantly younger.”
The affidavit notes that neighbors and Ruby’s own brother knew about the couple’s relationship – and that Baron was seen at the older man’s home in the gated community.
Surveillance footage later obtained by authorities also showed Baron buying several bags of cement, and court documents say he was carrying a receipt from Lowe’s for the February 7 purchase of Quikrete-brand cement.
The murder took place at Ruby’s home, which is located in one of Hawaii’s “premier residential communities,” Hawaii Loa Ridge, where homes are currently for sale between $2.5 million and $27 million. Ruby’s house reportedly cost $2.2 million
Victim Gary Ruby, 73, lived on the corner of 357 Lelekepue Place (pictured) in the exclusive 557 Home community
Honolulu police first visited Ruby’s home on Lelekepue Place in the gated community Monday after his brother, who lives on the mainland, received a welfare call. His brother said he hadn’t heard from the 73-year-old since early February.
Officers then searched the three-bedroom, bath home for the homeowner, who they could not locate. But police noticed the bathtub was filled with a concrete-like substance.
“The original case was a missing persons investigation. It wasn’t a criminal case,” Lieutenant Deena Thoemmes told NBC News.
Despite this, the police returned the next day and found Baron and Baron’s friend, 34-year-old Scott Hannon, who had fled.
When they examined the bathtub, they were overwhelmed by the smell of coffee.
“When we entered the apartment, we definitely smelled coffee,” Thoemmes of the Honolulu Police Department told NBC News.
As soon as officers began to smell human decay, they began scraping the concrete.
“The body was in the free-standing tub and was in a state of decomposition when we removed the concrete mix.”
Baron and Hannon were later seen at the Waikiki Hotel before fleeing to California.
Security footage shows the two beloved men holding hands and being affectionate towards each other in hotel surveillance footage. Baron appeared to be checking his phone for directions before, with Hannon’s arm around the smaller man, they walked down the sidewalk to an unknown destination.
Both men were eventually committed to the Los Angeles Police Department’s Metropolitan Detention Center, but Hannon was released, with authorities citing “an inadequate complaint” as the reason for his release.