Suspect in Fatal Shooting of New Mexico State Police Officer Caught

A suspect in the shooting death of a New Mexico state police officer was captured Sunday by law enforcement officers in the Albuquerque area based on a tip from a gas station clerk, authorities said.

The Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office detained 33-year-old Jaremy Smith of Marion, South Carolina, in the southwestern reaches of Albuquerque after the clerk notified authorities of a man who fit Smith’s description, Sheriff John Allen said at a brief news conference.

Jaremy Smith

South Carolina authorities have identified Smith as a person of interest in the killing of a local paramedic whose stolen car was involved in Friday’s fatal shooting of New Mexico State Police Officer Justin Hare along Interstate 40 west of Tucumcari.

Justin Hare

Allen said Smith was located walking on the outskirts of a residential area and was wounded by gunfire as officers pursued him on foot. He was taken to a local hospital for treatment under police guard. {snip}

{snip}

Authorities said Hare was dispatched about 5 a.m. Friday to help a motorist in a white BMW with a flat tire on I-40.

Hare parked behind the BMW, and a man got out, approached the patrol car on the passenger side, then shot the officer without warning. They said the motorist then walked to the driver’s side of the police vehicle, shot Hare again, and pushed him into the back seat before taking off in the patrol vehicle.

State Police later learned that the white BMW was reported missing in South Carolina and that it belonged to a woman who was killed there last week, Phonesia Machado-Fore, 52, a Marion County paramedic.

{snip}