NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – KRQE News 13 has received new information about the suspect accused of shooting and killing New Mexico State Police Officer Justin Hare in March.
Jaremy Smith, of Marion, South Carolina, is accused of shooting and killing Hare after the officer stopped to help him with a flat tire near Tucumcari on March 15. Court documents filed earlier this month detail how Smith ended up in New Mexico and his suspected involvement in the murder of a South Carolina paramedic.
Man accused of Albuquerque murder arrested in Roswell
According to the documents, the white BMW Smith was driving when Officer Hare stopped to assist him and belonged to the paramedic, identified as 52-year-old Phonesia Machado-Fore. A day before Officer Hare was killed, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office in South Carolina received a missing persons report for Machado-Fore.
Machado-Fore’s roommate reportedly told investigators that Smith had been at their home before Machado-Fore disappeared. GPS data determined the stolen car had made a stop in South Carolina, where Machado-Fore’s body was later discovered with a gunshot wound to the head.
Smith then reportedly visited a male friend in the area and offered him a ride to Atlanta, Georgia. Before leaving South Carolina, the two stopped at a house that Smith described as “his girl’s house,” court records state. There, police believe they took six guns from the house, which Smith later sold. Police records show the two then left Marion County, South Carolina and made stops in Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana and Texas.
Along the way, court documents show that Smith “became disrespectful and threatened to kill his friend,” who later got off at a gas station in Texas and refused to continue traveling with Smith. Shortly afterward, police say Smith reached New Mexico. Smith faces the death penalty if convicted of his charges here in New Mexico. Jury selection is expected to begin June 10 at the federal courthouse in Albuquerque.
Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
For breaking news, weather, sports and streaming video, visit KRQE NEWS 13 – Breaking News, Albuquerque News, New Mexico News, Weather and Videos.
