Jonathan Hatami—a deputy district attorney known for taking on high-profile child abuse cases—is one of the contenders vying to replace progressive Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón in 2024, he announced on March 29 in Whittier.
Hatami, who works in the Complex Child Abuse Unit at the Hall of Justice, said amid a “public safety crisis,” he’s seen “the failures of our elected leaders who promised to do better but only end up making things worse.”
The prosecutor had several families of victims behind him in support at the announcement.
“These are the real victims of the criminal justice system, and George Gascón has left them behind,” Hatami said.
According to his campaign website, the veteran prosecutor has handled thousands of child physical and sexual abuse cases, domestic violence, hate crimes, and complex homicides and prosecuted more than 80 felony jury trials. In particular, he was the prosecutor in the case of Jose Cuatro and Maria Juarez, a couple charged with murder and torture in the death of their 4-year-old son Noah.
Hatami was also one of two prosecutors in the high-profile trial of Isauro Aguirre and Pearl Fernandez, who were sentenced to death and life in prison without parole, respectively, for the torture and murder of Fernandez’s 8-year-old son Gabriel in 2013.
As a Democrat, Hatami said he would have both Republicans and Democrats working in his office should he get elected.
“I see so many individuals trying to separate us based on politics, [but] public safety has nothing to do with politics,” he said.
“I’ve always believed being a good prosecutor means telling the truth and doing the right thing. That’s the justice,” he said. “I believe in December 2020, George Gascón changed all of that.”
At least 15 other Los Angeles County prosecutors are also taking legal action against Gascón for either retaliation or defamation claims. One of these prosecutors, Deputy District Attorney Maria Ramirez, is also running against Gascón.
Los Angeles prosecutor John McKinney, who just won a high-profile case convicting the suspect who murdered Grammy award-winning rapper Nipsey Hussle in 2019, announced on March 7 that he also has joined the 2024 race.
Incumbent Gascón was first elected in December 2020 on a promise to radically reform the criminal justice system. Some of the policies he implemented and faced pushback from critics include: no longer charging minors as adults, eliminating many sentencing enhancements including firearms, ending the death penalty, holding accountable law enforcement officers who violate the law, and removing cash bail for misdemeanors or nonviolent felony crimes.
Gascón, previously the district attorney in San Francisco from 2011 to 2019, survived recall attempts in Los Angeles in 2021 and 2022.
Gascón’s office didn’t respond to a request for comment by press time.
