Thirty-six years after the horrific kidnap, rape, and murder of Lois Haro in Pasadena, the weight of justice has finally come down on Ronald Anthony Jones. On Monday, a downtown Los Angeles jury convicted Jones of first-degree murder, solidifying a case that has lingered in the public conscience for nearly four decades. The verdict includes findings on four special circumstance allegations, marking a conclusive step toward resolution for both the community and the victim's family, as reported by Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón.
According to FOX LA, Jones, now 54, was found guilty of the crime and also faced allegations that he personally used a handgun in the commission of the crime, however, jurors were deadlocked on this particular point. The tragic events that led to the death of 26-year-old Haro began on the evening of October 18, 1988, when Jones and his crime partner, George Marvin Trone Jr., abducted her from the now-defunct Plaza Pasadena Mall. Trone is currently serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole.
Earlier proceedings saw Jones' case overturned by U.S. District Judge Josephine L. Staton, who concluded that his first trial in 1991 was "incurably tainted by race-based discrimination". His retrial, however, has set a different course, with Jones’ DNA found lately on the victim’s clothing and sexual assault kit evidence, as procured by the Pasadena Police Department. This evidence served as a significant factor in reaching the current guilty verdict.
Jones' defense argued that their client had "taken responsibility" for his involvement but maintained that he was not the one who fired the gun at Haro. Deputy District Attorneys Beth Silverman and Seth Carmack presented a firm stance, with Silverman arguing that Jones and Trone went out "hunting" for a vulnerable victim and that leaving her alive was never in their plans, "She was the sole witness, the only person that could identify them," Silverman said. The pair's choice to not conceal their identities was because, "they were going to kill her", Carmack told jurors.
The verdict brings a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole for Jones. Sentencing is slated for October 22, in what will likely bring a close to a chapter that has haunted Lois Haro's loved ones for too long. Haro's husband, who has since remarried, expressed relief after the verdict, saying, "It's just been tremendously emotionally painful to listen to all the evidence again," according to a FOX LA interview. Outside the courtroom, a moving apology came from Jones' sisters to the Haro family, an act the victim's husband found deeply appreciated. "We have always felt we needed to apologize, say, ‘We're sorry,' even though we were not involved," Jones' sister Antoinette told FOX LA.
