Riverside County prosecutors Thursday reiterated requests that concerned residents and news outlets refrain from speculative chatter about the criminal history of a man accused of killing his 7-month-old son, saying “the amount of misinformation” regarding his prior plea deal was diverting attention away from the objective of resolving the current homicide case.
“Our office’s primary focus remains providing justice for baby Emmanuel,” according to a District Attorney’s Office statement released Thursday. “It is essential that we do not lose sight of who is truly responsible for the loss of life at issue in this case and focus our time and energy on ensuring justice for Emmanuel.”
Jake Mitchell Haro, 32, and his wife, Rebecca Rene Haro, 41, of Cabazon are each charged with murder and filing a false police report in connection with Emmanuel’s disappearance last month. They pleaded not guilty during a joint arraignment last week and are due back in court for a status conference on Tuesday.
Each defendant is being held in lieu of $1 million bail — Jake Haro at the Smith Correctional Facility in Banning, his wife at the Robert Presley Jail in Riverside.
Since the couple’s arrests, ongoing social media banter and, to a lesser extent, news reports have centered on what transpired in Jake Haro’s previous conviction.
In a briefing on Aug. 27, District Attorney Mike Hestrin said Emmanuel’s death was preventable, blaming a failure in the criminal justice system for enabling Jake Haro to remain free on probation after pleading guilty in a child abuse case involving his ex-wife and another infant, Carolina.
In 2023, Haro admitted a child cruelty charge, but made his plea directly to the court, avoiding negotiations with prosecutors. Hestrin said the prosecution had wanted prison for the defendant’s extensive abuse of the girl, which resulted in broken ribs, a fractured skull and a brain hemorrhage, leaving her permanently bedridden.
“If that judge had done his job, Emmanuel would be alive today,” he said.
The D.A.’s office said in its statement Thursday that “Our office believed the charges could have been more severe based on the nature and extent of the victim’s injuries.”
“Prior to any plea to the court in that case, we strongly objected to the proposed sentence,” the agency stated. “Our objection was made based on the seriousness of the injuries Mr. Haro inflicted on his then-10-week-old daughter. When the court chose to deviate (from the prosecution’s effort to secure prison) … it was acutely aware of the heinous and permanent nature of this young victim’s injuries. We believe that granting Haro probation under these circumstances, on these facts, was an inappropriate use of (the court’s) discretion.”
Emmanuel’s body has not been located.
His parents were arrested on Aug. 22 following a San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department investigation.
In a jailhouse interview with one news outlet, Jake Haro denied any involvement in the infant’s vanishing, insisting he was cooperating with investigators.
“There was forensic data from the crime scene,” San Bernardino County Sheriff Shannon Dicus said last month. “That’s how we learned the jurisdiction where this crime occurred (Riverside County). Forensically, there were a number of things we were able to prove up.”
He did not disclose specifics.
Emmanuel was reported missing in the 34000 block of Yucaipa Boulevard in Yucaipa on the evening of Aug. 14.
Rebecca Haro told deputies she’d been assaulted while standing near her vehicle, changing Emmanuel’s diaper outside a Big 5 store. The defendant suggested she was knocked out, and that the assailant fled with the tot.
On Aug. 18, San Bernardino County sheriff’s detectives served search warrants at the defendants’ Ramona Street property, and “a large amount of surveillance video” was obtained from areas of interest for review, according to the agency.
Jake Haro was arrested and charged last year in Banning with illegal possession of a loaded firearm, as well as probation violations. That case hasn’t been resolved.
Court documents also revealed that Isabel Rebecca Gonzalez, Haro’s former spouse, filed a domestic violence retraining order against him with a request to protect the couple’s son, Eli.
Rebecca Haro has no documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County.