POINT HOPE -- Three men accused of killing and wasting caribou outside Point Hope last summer will change their pleas from not guilty in coming weeks, prosecutors said Tuesday. Eight men have been charged with wanton waste, failure to salvage edible meat, or both after troopers said they found at least 37 caribou rotting on the tundra outside Point Hope in the summer of 2008.

One of them, Randy John Oktollik, 26, was set to change his plea at a hearing today but will do so at a future date when he and two others will also change their pleas, a Kotzebue judge said.

The change of plea date, along with the trial date for the other accused, will be set at a status hearing Wednesday.