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Cabazon child abuser admits killing his months-old son By City News Service
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convicted child abuser from Cabazon who killed his 7-month-old son, after which, prosecutors allege, he conspired with his wife to cover up the crime, pleaded guilty Thursday to murder and other charges. Jake Mitchell Haro, 32, unexpectedly admitted the murder charge, along with child assault and filing a false police report, during a status hearing at the Riverside Hall of Justice Thursday morning. His spouse, 41-year-old Rebecca Rene Haro, did not join in the plea, which was made straight to the judge, without negotiations between the defense and prosecution. “In a plea to the court ... the judge in the case determines the sentence a defendant will serve,” according to a District Attorney’s Office statement. “Haro faces a potential sentence of 25 years to life in prison. Because there are still active criminal proceedings involving Rebecca Haro, the D.A.’s office will be making no additional comments regarding the case, or the
guilty plea.” Superior Court Judge Gary Polk scheduled a sentencing hearing for Jake Haro on Nov. 3 at the downtown courthouse. On that same day, a preliminary hearing is set for his wife. That hearing, if it proceeds, will determine whether that are sufficient grounds for a trial on charges of murder and filing a false police report. Jake Haro is being held without bail at the Smith Correctional Facility in Banning. Rebecca Haro is being held on $1 million bail at the Robert Presley Jail in Riverside. Baby Emmanuel’s body has not been located. His parents were arrested on Aug. 22 following a San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department investigation. “There was forensic data from the crime scene,” San Bernardino County Sheriff Shannon Dicus said during a news briefing in late August. “That’s how we learned the jurisdiction where this crime occurred (Riverside
Jake Mitchell Haro. | Photo courtesy of the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department
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 restraining order against him with a request
to protect the couple’s son, Eli. Rebecca Haro has no documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County. 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 again pled directly to the court, avoiding negotiations with prosecutors. Hestrin said the D.A.’s office 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 bed-ridden. “If that judge had done his job, Emmanuel would be
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5 ways the Department of Education is upending public schools By Megan O’Matz and Jennifer Smith Richards, ProPublica This story was originally published by ProPublica. ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox.
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n just over eight months, the second Trump administration has made a rapid succession of political hires and policy decisions at the U.S. Department of Education that could spur profound changes in the way schools are operated and children learn. After years of advocating to expand private and religious education and home-
schooling, using tax dollars, a cadre of conservative activists is in a position to push forward its agenda. Some of its policies are already undermining public schools, which it has denigrated as unsuccessful and out of step with Christian values, a ProPublica investigation found. In many communities, public schools are valued hubs for community life and
services, including meals, socializing and counseling. More than 80% of students are enrolled in traditional public schools, which must serve all children, including those with disabilities. The administration, however, views public schools as a monopoly that should be broken up. “Millions of young Americans are trapped in failing schools, subjected to radical
anti-American ideology,” Education Department Secretary Linda McMahon claimed immediately after taking office. She and others in the administration believe that progressive activists have led schools to focus too much on “woke” policies rather than on rigorous academic standards. Agency officials and spokespeople declined to
speak to ProPublica. Here are five ways the Education Department under McMahon is creating profound change in public schools. 1. Encouraging an exodus McMahon and President Donald Trump want to expand tax-funded school choice options, giving more See Public schools Page 03
families the financial means to leave public schools. Trump pushed Congress to pass, and signed into law, a new federal tax credit to finance the first national school voucher program, set to open to families on Jan. 1, 2027. The Education Department has also encouraged