 officer last week along I-40 west of Tucumcari has been detained.){kind=link}
ALBUEQUERQUE — The man suspected of shooting and killing a New Mexico State Police (NMSP) officer last week along I-40 west of Tucumcari has been detained.
Since the incident occurred early Friday morning, law enforcement agencies statewide had been on the lookout for Jaremy Smith, 33, of Marion, S.C., in connection with the fatal shooting of Officer Justin Hare, 35. On that day, Hare was dispatched to help a motorist in a white BMW who was stranded on I-40 with a flat tire.
Hare parked behind the BMW, and the suspect got out, approached the patrol car on the passenger side, and shot the officer without warning. They said the suspect then walked to the driver’s side of the police vehicle, shot Hare again, and pushed him into the backseat before taking off in the patrol vehicle.
State police were alerted to the shooting by a “duress signal” coming from Hare’s radio, Weisler said. The arriving officer found the abandoned patrol car and, later, the wounded officer farther back on a frontage road near the interstate. Hare was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The NMSP later learned that the white BMW was reported missing in South Carolina and had belonged to a woman who was killed there, paramedic Phonesia Machado-Fore. The Marion County Sheriff’s Office in South Carolina reported on its Facebook page Saturday that Machado-Fore’s body was found about 6:15 p.m. Friday outside of Lake View in Dillon County. Her family had reported her missing Thursday evening.
On Saturday afternoon, the NMSP responded to a report of shots fired off Waller Road near Santa Rosa in Guadalupe County. Homeowners reported they were checking their livestock when they noticed a dark figure running through a nearby grove of trees. The homeowners stated two shots were fired in their direction.
Then, on Sunday, a gas station clerk in southwest Albuquerque notified authorities that a man matching Smith’s description had stopped at the station. Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office deputies were able to locate Smith, who was walking on the outskirts of a residential area. He was wounded by gunfire as deputies pursued him on foot and taken to a local hospital for treatment. No criminal charges have yet been filed.
“Everything is really preliminary right now on the investigation, so we’re not going to get into any of the details,” NMSP Chief Troy Weisler said.
“I believe that I speak for many here in Marion County when I tell you that I am overwhelmed with relief knowing that Jaremy Smith is in custody,” Marion County Sheriff Brian Wallace said in a statement posted on Facebook. “At this time, Marion County Sheriff’s Office has no charges on Jaremy Smith. Therefore, he will remain in the custody of New Mexico State Police to face charges.”
In a news release, New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham expressed gratitude to the person who spotted Smith and reported him to authorities, calling the suspect’s detention a “major step toward justice” for Hare’s family.
Hare had been with the state police agency since 2018. Born and raised in New Mexico, he is survived by his parents, his girlfriend, and their two young children.