Police are seeking Jaremy Smith, center inset, for the murder of New Mexico State Police Officer Justin Hare, right inset. Police are also investigating Smith in connection with the death of paramedic Phonesia Machado-Fore (left inset).
A 33-year-old ex-con and fugitive accused of murdering a paramedic in South Carolina and a New Mexico police officer was apprehended when a suspicious gas station checked his ID and called the cops.
The Marion County Sheriff’s Office in South Carolina has filed 17 arrest warrants for Jaremy Smith in connection with the kidnapping and murder of paramedic, wife, and mother Phonesia Machado-Fore. Federal officials also accuse him of killing Justin Hare, a New Mexico State Police officer.
“We said we would bring Jaremy Smith to justice,” New Mexico State Police Chief Troy Weisler stated this week, according to Albuquerque ABC affiliate KOAT. “He had nowhere to escape, nowhere to hide.” We were able to do this today thanks to our community and our other law enforcement partners.”
According to Law & Crime, Smith is accused of killing Machado-Fore, whose body was discovered in South Carolina last month after her family reported her missing on March 12. Smith allegedly drove her BMW to New Mexico on March 15 and killed New Mexico State Police Officer Justin Hare, who stopped to help him with a flat tire.
Smith allegedly pulled out a revolver and shot Hare, then proceeded to the driver’s side and shot the cop again before forcing the wounded officer into the passenger seat and driving away in his patrol car with the fatally injured officer inside, according to authorities.
Unanswered dispatch calls to Hare prompted the dispatcher to send an officer to investigate. En route, the officer noticed Hare’s patrol car rushing down a frontage road parallel to an expressway. The officer took the next exit to get onto the frontage road and attempted to catch up with the police unit.
Hare’s police unit fell off the side of the road near milepost 304 before the officer caught up with it. When the police approached the automobile, there was no one inside. The driver ran away and vanished. We discovered Officer Hare on the frontage road of Interstate 40, around milepost 312. They transported him to Danbury Hospital in Tucumcari, where he passed away.
Police soon recognized the perpetrator, claiming that they captured him on Officer Hare’s police unit dashboard camera and linked him to Machado-Fore’s BMW on the side of the road in New Mexico.
Federal officials said that a clerk examining Smith’s identity card noticed the unusual spelling of his name and notified authorities, leading to Smith’s apprehending on March 17 at a petrol station in Albuquerque.
When law enforcement arrived, Smith fled. As authorities closed in on him during the foot chase, Smith grabbed for his waistband, and cops shot him before taking him into custody and providing medical care, according to prosecutors.
According to authorities, Smith has ties to the Albuquerque region and a lengthy criminal record, primarily in South Carolina, stretching back at least a decade.
Officer Hare, who had been on the force for five years, was hailed as a cornerstone of his community, living in the same house where he grew up.
“Officer Hare died serving his state and his community,” Weisler told the media. “On a chilly, dark, and windy morning, he provided assistance to someone he believed was in need. “That person killed him in cold blood.”
