Jaremy Smith, center inset, is wanted in the killing of New Mexico State Police Officer Justin Hare, right inset. Police are also investigating Smith in the death of paramedic Phonesia Machado-Fore, left inset. (Smith and Hare photos from New Mexico State Police; Machado-Fore’s photo from Marion County Sheriff’s Office — South Carolina; BMW photo from KOB4/YouTube)
A 33-year-old ex-con and fugitive accused of killing a paramedic in South Carolina and a New Mexico police officer was caught when a suspicious gas station checking his ID called the police.
The Marion County Sheriff’s Office-South Carolina said 17 arrest warrants were issued for Jaremy Smith in the kidnapping and murder of paramedic, wife, and mother, Phonesia Machado-Fore, authorities said in a news release. He’s also accused of killing New Mexico State Police Officer Justin Hare, federal officials said.
“We said we would bring Jaremy Smith to justice,” New Mexico State Police Chief Troy Weisler said this week, Albuquerque ABC affiliate KOAT reported. “There was nowhere he could run, that there was nowhere he could hide. Today, thanks to our community, to our fellow law enforcement partners, we were able to do that.”
As Law&Crime reported, Smith is accused of killing Machado-Fore, whose body was found last month in South Carolina after she had been reported missing on March 12 by family, officials said. Smith is suspected of driving her BMW to New Mexico, where he got a flat tire on March 15 and allegedly killed New Mexico State Police Officer Justin Hare, who stopped to help him with the flat.
Smith allegedly pulled out a gun and shot Hare, then walked to the driver’s side and shot the officer again before pushing the wounded officer into the passenger seat and driving away in his patrol car with the fatally wounded officer inside, authorities said.
When calls from dispatch to Hare went unanswered, an officer was dispatched to investigate. En route, the officer saw Hare’s patrol car speeding along a frontage road parallel to an interstate. The officer took the next exit to get on the frontage road and tried to catch up to the patrol unit.
At one point, Hare’s patrol unit crashed off the side of the road near milepost 304 by the time the officer caught up to it. When the officer approached the car, no one was inside. The driver had run away and disappeared. Officer Hare was found on the frontage road of Interstate 40 near milepost 312. He was taken to Danbury Hospital in Tucumcari, where he died.
Police quickly identified the suspect, saying they caught him on Officer Hare’s police unit dashboard camera and connected him to Machado-Fore’s BMW on the side of the road in New Mexico.
Smith was captured on March 17 at a gas station in Albuquerque after a clerk checking his identification card recognized the distinct spelling of his name and called police, federal prosecutors said.
When law enforcement responded, Smith ran. As authorities closed in on him during the foot chase, Smith reached for his waistband, and officers shot him before they took him into custody and gave him medical aid, prosecutors said.
Authorities said Smith has ties to the Albuquerque area and has an extensive criminal history, mainly in South Carolina, dating back at least a decade.
Officer Hare, who had been on the force for five years, was described as a pillar of his community, living in the house he grew up in.
“Officer Hare died serving his state and his community,” Weisler said. “On a cold, dark and windy morning, he offered help to a person he thought was in need. That person killed him in cold blood.”
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