On Wednesday, April 10, 2024, a federal grand jury indicted Jaremy Smith, 33, of South Carolina, for the murder of Officer Justin Hare. Smith’s arraignment is scheduled for April 18, 2024.
On March 15, 2024, Smith tried to flag down drivers on Interstate 40 in Quay County, New Mexico, for help with a flat tire. He had stolen a white BMW from South Carolina around March 13, 2024, and drove it to New Mexico before it broke down. Officer Justin Hare responded to assist Smith. When Hare arrived around 5:04 a.m., Smith shot him with a Taurus 9mm pistol stolen from South Carolina.
Smith then fired two more shots at Hare through the driver’s side window, took control of Hare’s patrol car, and drove it westbound on Interstate 40 before exiting. After a distance, Smith removed Hare from the vehicle and continued driving until crashing in Guadalupe County, New Mexico. Hare succumbed to the injuries inflicted by Smith during the incident.
The federal indictment charges Smith with carjacking resulting in death, causing death by discharging a firearm during a violent crime, kidnapping resulting in death, being in possession of a firearm as a prohibited person, possessing a stolen firearm, and transporting a stolen vehicle across state lines. If convicted, Smith could face a mandatory life sentence or the death penalty for the kidnapping resulting in death charge, as well as life imprisonment or death for the carjacking and firearm discharge offenses.
There is no possibility of parole in the federal system.
The FBI Albuquerque Field Office and the New Mexico State Police led the investigation, supported by the Tenth Judicial District Attorney’s Office and the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Paul Mysliwiec and Jack Burkhead are handling the prosecution.
Smith Also Faces 17 Warrants for Kidnapping and Murder in Marion County, South Carolina
On April 5, 2024, Marion County, South Carolina authorities issued seventeen warrants against Smith, accusing him of kidnapping and killing a Pee Dee paramedic before the death of Officer Hare in New Mexico. The warrants include charges of murder, kidnapping, carjacking, criminal conspiracy, grand larceny of a motor vehicle, first-degree burglary, possession of a weapon during a violent crime, and being a felon in possession of a handgun.
Crew Chief Sgt. Phonesia Machado-Fore, aged 52, a Pee Dee paramedic, disappeared from her home in Marion in early March. Authorities found her body on March 15 outside Lake View in Dillon County. Authorities identified Smith as a “person of interest” in her death after he emerged as a suspect in Officer Hare’s killing.
Federal authorities will keep Smith in custody in New Mexico until they resolve the federal charges against him. NM Attorney General Raul Torres stated that his office will pursue state charges against Smith after the federal case concludes. South Carolina could also charge Smith for Machado-Fore’s murder once charges in New Mexico are complete.
It’s crucial to remember that an indictment is an accusation, and defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in court.
You can read the federal indictment here.
In a Better, stronger country, this feral pavement ape would have been shot dead behind the jail.
Would certainly save us time and money. In better days, he would have been lynched hours after being caught.