ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A South Carolina man was sentenced to life in prison Monday for gunning down a New Mexico state police officer who had stopped to help him.
The sentence stemmed from an agreement Jaremy Smith reached with federal prosecutors earlier this year. He had pleaded guilty to charges that included carjacking resulting in death, using and carrying a firearm during a crime of violence, being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm, and possession of a stolen firearm.
He also is facing multiple charges in South Carolina, where he is accused of carjacking a woman and killing her before driving her car cross country. It was the gun he had stolen from the woman's roommate that authorities say he used to shoot the officer.
While then- U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland opted at the time to not pursue the death penalty against Smith, it could be on the table with the pending state case in South Carolina, federal prosecutors have said.
The fatal shooting of Officer Justin Hare happened before dawn on March 15, 2024, along Interstate 40 near the community of Tucumcari. The killing set off a search for Smith, who was wounded and captured two days later in Albuquerque after authorities got a tip from a gas station clerk.
Ryan Ellison, the newly appointed U.S. attorney for the district of New Mexico, said Smith’s actions left a trail of destruction across state lines.
“Officer Justin Hare, a hero who saw someone in need and selflessly stepped in to help, paid the ultimate price,” Ellison said in a statement. “We honor his memory by ensuring that Jaremy Smith will never again be able to endanger the lives of others.”
According to a criminal complaint, Hare was dispatched to help someone in a white BMW. He parked behind it and a man approached his patrol car on the passenger side. The two then began talking about a flat tire, and the officer offered Smith a ride to a nearby town because no repair shop was open at that hour.
Seconds later, Smith shot Hare, then went to the driver’s side and waited until traffic passed to shoot the officer again, according to dash camera video that was released as part of the investigation.
Authorities said Smith then pushed the officer into the passenger seat and drove away. Court records state the officer can be heard gasping for air on a body camera recording, and the duress signal on his radio was activated, alerting other officers.
Hare was found about an hour later, alive but fatally injured on the side of the road. The 35-year-old father had been with the state police agency since 2018.
State Police later learned the BMW had been reported missing in South Carolina and belonged to a woman who was killed there — Phonesia Machado-Fore, a 52-year-old paramedic. Her body was found in a neighboring county, still wearing pajamas and house slippers, and her wrists showing signs that she had been bound.
Authorities had used cellphone data and the car's GPS location data to track Smith and Machado-Fore's movements.
Authorities had said Smith had a long criminal history. A review of South Carolina Department of Corrections records showed he spent time in prison for attempted armed robbery and hostage-taking before being released on parole in Marion County in December 2023. The records also showed numerous infractions while he was incarcerated from possessing a weapon to attacking or attempting to injure employees and inmates.
Associated Press writer Jeffrey Collins in Columbia, South Carolina, contributed to this report.
FILE - The remains of New Mexico State Police officer Justin Hare are carried in to Legacy Church in Albuquerque, N.M., for his funeral services on March 27, 2024. (Jon Austria/The Albuquerque Journal via AP, File)
FILE - New Mexico Department of Public Safety Secretary Jason Bowie stands at the podium flanked by state and federal officials as charges are announced in the March 15 killing of New Mexico State Police Officer Justin Hare, during a joint news conference in Albuquerque, N.M., on March 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Montoya Bryan)
