Claudia Haro is a former American model and actress who has drawn public attention for two very different reasons. She was married to Oscar-winning actor Joe Pesci in the late 1980s and appeared in several of his films. Years later, she became the central figure in a Los Angeles attempted murder case that ended with a lengthy prison sentence.
A Largely Private Early Life
Her full name is Claudia Martha Haro. Little is publicly documented about her childhood, parents, or upbringing, and no reliable source gives her exact date of birth. Some outlets place her birth in 1967, but that figure comes from secondary sources, so it is treated here as unconfirmed.
Published accounts say she met Joe Pesci in 1981 while she was working as a model. A relative named in court-related reporting is her younger brother, Manuel Haro, who later became a key figure in the criminal case against her.
Marriage to Joe Pesci
Haro and Pesci married in 1988. Their marriage ended in divorce in 1992, four years later. They had one child together, a daughter named Tiffany.
Pesci was already well known by then. He won an Academy Award for his work in Goodfellas and later gained a new audience through the Home Alone films. After the divorce, Haro and Pesci reportedly stayed on friendly terms. Pesci was later present at her sentencing, which suggests the connection endured.
Her Brief Acting Career
Haro’s screen work was short and mostly connected to her former husband. Her credits include:
- the newscaster in Jimmy Hollywood (1994)
- Marty in With Honors (1994)
- a receptionist in Wes Craven’s New Nightmare (1994)
- Julie in Gone Fishin’ (1997)
Apart from Wes Craven’s New Nightmare, each of these films also featured Pesci. No major screen credits after 1997 appear in the sources reviewed, and she is described as retired from acting.
Second Marriage to Garrett Warren
In 1998, Haro married Garrett Warren, a Hollywood stuntman. The couple had a daughter, and the marriage ended in 2000. Haro filed for divorce that year, and the two reportedly agreed to joint custody of their child. Accounts of the period describe the split and the custody arrangement as bitter.
Reports differ on a few smaller details of this period, including the spelling of the daughter’s name and the exact dates of the couple’s separation. Those details are left out here because they could not be verified consistently.
The May 2000 Shooting
On May 20, 2000, a gunman named Jorge Hernandez went to the door of Warren’s apartment in Westlake Village, California. According to published accounts of the case, he complained about how Warren had parked his car. When Warren opened the door, Hernandez fired six rounds from a .32-caliber handgun.
Warren was hit four times, in the chest, neck, left hip, and right eye. He survived but lost sight in his right eye. His elderly mother was also at the scene and narrowly avoided being hit as the shooter fled.
When Los Angeles County sheriff’s detectives asked Warren who might want him dead, he named his ex-wife without hesitation. Haro, however, had an alibi. Detectives eventually told Warren she was no longer considered a suspect, and the investigation went quiet for years.
How the Case Was Reopened
The turning point came years later, when authorities found an envelope hidden beneath the spare tire of a Mercedes-Benz belonging to Miguel Quiroz, a man who was also suspected of drug dealing. Inside were a photograph of Warren, taken from a directory of stuntmen, and directions to the home where he lived after the shooting.
That discovery led detectives to Quiroz, who owned a pizzeria in Rancho Cucamonga, California. He told investigators that Manuel Haro, who had once worked for him, had approached him about arranging the killing. Quiroz said he then hired Hernandez and gave him $10,000. As part of a plea agreement, Quiroz also handed over a handwritten note that Claudia Haro had reportedly given him, which specified a timeframe for the planned killing.
On June 29, 2005, police arrested Manuel Haro and Hernandez. Manuel Haro told detectives that after Warren survived the first attack, his sister contacted him to ask when the job would be finished. In December 2005, Claudia Haro was arrested on charges connected to the case.
Plea and Sentencing
Haro initially denied involvement. The case moved slowly through the courts for roughly six years. In March 2012, she pleaded no contest to two counts of attempted murder and a principal firearm charge. A no-contest plea does not formally admit guilt, but it carries the same legal consequences as a guilty plea.
In April 2012, a Los Angeles judge sentenced her to 12 years and four months in prison. Pesci attended the hearing and was visibly distraught as she was taken into custody.
Pesci was never charged in connection with the shooting. Although investigators looked into how the $10,000 payment was funded, and a witness described a payment made in front of Pesci’s home, he faced no criminal charges.
Haro served her sentence at the California Institution for Women and was paroled in August 2019. Warren kept sole custody of their daughter.
Where She Is Today
Since her release, Haro has stayed out of public view. She has no verified social media presence and has given no known interviews, and there are no confirmed, up-to-date reports about her current work or residence. Some websites speculate about where she lives or how she earns a living, but those claims cannot be verified and are not repeated here.
The case itself remains well documented. It was covered by The Daily Beast in 2012, and NBC’s Dateline examined it in an episode titled “The Plot Thickens,” which first aired on September 28, 2012.
Conclusion
Claudia Haro’s story combines a brief Hollywood career, a high-profile marriage, and a serious criminal case. Her early life remains private, and her acting credits are limited, but the legal record is clear. She pleaded no contest to two counts of attempted murder in the 2000 shooting of Garrett Warren, was sentenced to more than 12 years, and was paroled in 2019.
Several details widely repeated online, such as her net worth or her relationships after 2000, lack reliable support and have been left out. What is documented shows how a custody dispute escalated into a violent crime that took years to solve.
FAQs
1. Who is Claudia Haro?
She is a former American model and actress who was married to Joe Pesci from 1988 to 1992 and later to stuntman Garrett Warren. She is best known for her role in the 2000 attempted murder case involving Warren.
2. Which movies did Claudia Haro appear in?
Her credits include Jimmy Hollywood, With Honors, and Wes Craven’s New Nightmare (all 1994), Casino (1995), and Gone Fishin’ (1997).
3. What was Claudia Haro convicted of?
She pleaded no contest to two counts of attempted murder and a principal firearm charge. The charges stemmed from the May 2000 shooting of her ex-husband Garrett Warren, in which his mother was also at the scene.
4. How long was she in prison?
She was sentenced in April 2012 to 12 years and four months. She served time at the California Institution for Women and was paroled in August 2019.
5. Was Joe Pesci charged in the case?
No. Investigators examined how the hitman’s payment was funded, but Pesci was never charged. He attended Haro’s sentencing hearing.
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