A South Carolina man changed his plea Friday to guilty in the murder of a New Mexico State Police officer who stopped to help him with what appeared to be a flat tire on Interstate 40.
Jaremy Smith was already wanted for the murder of a paramedic in South Carolina when he shot Officer Justin Hare on March 15, 2024.
Smith pleaded guilty to five felonies in federal court: carjacking resulting in death, kidnapping, felon in possession of a firearm, possession of a stolen firearm, and an additional firearm charge, according to the US Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico.
Hare’s dash camera and body camera recorded the interaction with Smith, who got out of the car he was driving and walked up to the passenger side of the officers patrol vehicle. They two talk about Smith’s flat tire, and Hare offers a ride into town since no repair shops were open.
According to the complaint, Hare asked Smith to walk to the front of the patrol vehicle, but Smith instead shot the officer, walked around to the driver’s side and shot him again. Then he got into the patrol car and drove off.
Another officer was called to investigate when dispatch calls to Hare went unanswered, as CrimeOnline reported. That officer spotted the patrol call speeding along a frontage road and pursued, taking the next exit to get to the frontage road.
Smith crashed the patrol car but was gone by the time the officer arrived. Hare was found along the frontage road about eight miles back and taken to a hospital in Tucumcari, where he died.
Police identified Smith as the suspect after seeing him on Hare’s dashboard camera.
Smith was arrested at an Albuquerque gas station two days later when the gas station employee noticed the unusual spelling of his first name when checking his identification.
“A life sentence for a life taken does not make our community whole. But the best way to honor Justin Hare’s life is to take care of each other,” said U.S. Attorney Alexander Uballez. “In the memory of a brave State Police officer whose final act was to help another. In honor of the hundreds of law enforcement officers who worked around the clock to protect this community and do justice for their fallen brother. And in the footsteps of the gas station clerks, everyday citizens, who bravely did the right thing in the face of clear and present danger. It is time for us all to join these strangers who did the right thing for people they never met.”
Two days before Hare’s murder, Smith allegedly abducted Florence County, South Carolina, paramedic Phonesia Machado-Fore and fatally shot her with a gun that he had stolen from her roommate. Then he drove through Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas in Machad0-Fore’s car, which is the vehicle that had the flat tire in New Mexico.
He’s been charged with 17 counts related to her death in South Carolina. It’s not clear when or if he’ll be extradited to face those charges, and he is also expected to face a state murder charge in New Mexico now that the federal case is wrapping up.
“Officer Justin Hare and Ms. Machado-Fore were tragically killed by Jaremy Smith. While nothing can undo this heartbreaking loss, today offers a measure of justice for their friends and family,” said Troy Weisler, Chief of the New Mexico State Police. “Thanks to the efforts of our law enforcement partners and the support of the community, Jaremy Smith will never again take a breath as a free man, and that is as it should be.”
The plea deal calls for Smith to be sentenced to life in prison without parole. A sentencing date has not been set.
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[Featured image: Phonesia Machado-Fore/Marion County Sheriff’s Office; Jaremy Smith and Justin Hare/New Mexico State Police]
