A New Mexico State Police officer who was shot and killed near Tucumcari early Friday died offering to help his suspected killer with a flat tire, authorities say.
The suspect, a South Carolina man with a long criminal history, was driving a BMW that belonged to a woman who was found dead Friday in South Carolina. He is considered a person of interest in her death.
Jaremy Alexander Smith, 32, of Marion, S.C., is being sought in the death of Officer Justin Hare, a Logan resident described by community members as a fixture in the village who was quick to help motorists stranded along the roadside.
New Mexico State Police have issued an arrest warrant charging Smith with first-degree murder, armed robbery, shooting at or from a motor vehicle, tampering with evidence, felon in possession of a firearm, unlawful taking of a motor vehicle and criminal damage to property.
Smith has a “very extensive criminal history, the majority of which is in South Carolina,” state police Chief Troy Weisler said at a news conference Saturday in Albuquerque.
He said Smith, who has been charged with both property and violent crimes, should be considered armed and dangerous and should not be approached.
State Public Safety Cabinet Secretary Jason Bowie called Smith “a violent person with a long criminal history, who obviously has no regard [for] anybody he comes in contact with.” While some people might have mental health issues that lead them to commit crimes, he added, that does not appear to be a factor in this case.
“There are some people in our society that are just violent,” Bowie said. “They are calculating, deliberate in their actions, and they stop at nothing to prey on others.”
The car found at the scene of the shooting on Interstate 40 west of Tucumcari belonged to Phonesia Machado-Fore, a paramedic from Pee Dee, S.C., who was found dead Friday. She was last seen at her home in Marion on Tuesday and was reported missing Thursday, according to Fox Carolina. New Mexico State Police reported Smith is a person of interest in her death.
“Mrs. Fore was one of us, a fellow first responder,” Marion County Sheriff Brian Wallace said in a statement to the TV station. “Her death is senseless. Our community has suffered a tremendous loss. My team and I will not stop until we bring the person or persons responsible for her death to justice.”
Hare, 35, was responding to a call on I-40 west of Tucumcari when he was fatally shot. Weisler released a video late Friday night in which he said Hare was responding to a call around 5 a.m. about a motorist with a flat tire who was attempting to wave down other motorists. The suspect, Weisler said, got out of his vehicle and approached Hare’s passenger-side window. He said they spoke briefly about fixing the tire and Hare offered to give Smith a ride into town.
“Then, without warning, the suspect pulled out a firearm and shot Officer Hare,” Weisler said in the video. “The suspect then walked to the driver’s side and shot Officer Hare again.”
Smith pushed Hare into the passenger seat and drove away in Hare’s patrol vehicle with Hare inside, Weisler said.
Another state police officer went to find Hare when he didn’t answer calls from dispatch, Weisler said, and while the officer was on his way, Hare’s distress signal was activated, either by Hare or by the action of his body being moved.
The officer saw Hare’s patrol vehicle speeding on the I-40 frontage road about six miles west of where the BMW was parked, and when he caught up with it another eight miles down the highway — about halfway between Tucumcari and Santa Rosa — he found the empty vehicle crashed on the side of the road. Smith had fled on foot, Weisler said.
Police found Hare on the side of the frontage road and attempted to render aid. He was brought to a hospital in Tucumcari, where he died, state police said in a news release.
“Officer Hare died serving his state and his community,” Weisler said at Saturday’s news conference. “On a cold, dark and windy morning, he offered to help a person he thought was in need. That person killed him in cold blood. The last words Officer Hare uttered on this Earth was to offer to help a man who was about to kill him.”
Weisler vowed to capture Smith.
“I implore you to turn yourself in and surrender peacefully,” Weisler said. “There’s been enough death and despair. But if he does not, I guarantee you this: We will find him. There is nowhere he can run. There is nowhere he can hide where we will not find him.”
Weisler said state police identified Smith as a suspect after tracking down leads in South Carolina and viewing video from Hare’s dashboard camera.
Weisler said Smith has ties to Albuquerque and has spent time there in the past, though the chief refused to discuss the nature of those ties. He said it is “a definite possibility” Smith is in the Albuquerque area now.
Weisler said police trailed Smith for a while Friday, but the trail went cold when it circled back to the interstate. He said Smith may have gotten another ride. He warned against trying to help Smith.
“If anybody knowingly assists him, they can expect to pay the price as well and be prosecuted with any charge possible,” Weisler said.
State police said in a news release Smith’s past crimes in South Carolina include taking hostages and rioting in jail; burglary; breaking and entering; armed robbery; resisting and evading police; auto theft; shooting at or from a motor vehicle; and armed robbery.
Weisler said Hare is the third police officer to be killed in the line of duty in New Mexico in his 8½ months as state police chief. The others were Alamogordo police Officer Anthony Ferguson, who was shot and killed in July 2023, and Las Cruces police Officer Jonah Hernandez, who was stabbed to death last month.
Weisler said Hare was a New Mexico native who grew up in Logan and Moriarty and graduated from the New Mexico State Police recruit school in 2018. He is survived by his parents, girlfriend and two young children.
“He’s a pillar of that community,” Weisler said.
State police officials indicated Friday in a post on X, the social medial site previously known as Twitter, Smith was “last seen wearing a brown hoodie and jacket.”
In an email, the agency said he was “last seen on foot” on the frontage road that runs along I-40 at milepost 304 between Montoya and Newkirk.
Anyone who sees Smith should call state police at 505-425-6771 or dial 911.
