Police officer's killer to serve life in prison

ALBUQUERQUE - Jaremy Smith will spend the rest of his life behind bars without the possibility of parole. He pleaded guilty Friday to federal charges of fatally shooting a New Mexico State Police patrolman west of Tucumcari last March.

Federal law-enforcement officials made the announcement Friday.

The family of officer Justin Hare, 35, told the Albuquerque Journal that they had wanted Smith put to death for killing their son.

"I still wish he was dead," Jim Hare said outside the U.S. District Courthouse in Downtown Albuquerque. "My wish is to watch them put him on a chair, or something, and we look in his eyes while he dies."

Smith still faces additional charges in the slaying of a South Carolina paramedic days before he arrived in New Mexico. He could face the death penalty in South Carolina.

Quay County Sheriff Dennis Garcia and Deputy Joseph Otero were among the law enforcement officers who gave aid to the mortally wounded Hare at the scene and at the hospital. They attended Friday's court proceedings, along with dozens of other law enforcement personnel.

"It was really important for the people involved to be there," Garcia said.

Garcia said the majority of officers from NMSP's District 9, which includes Tucumcari, also attended.

Garcia said Smith, escorted by U.S. marshals, entered the courtroom with "a sly smirk on his face" that offended him and other officers there.

"It took every effort for us to not react and be professional," Garcia said.

On March 13, Smith abducted 52-year-old paramedic Phonesia Machado-Fore from her home in South Carolina, transported her in a stolen vehicle and fatally shot her with a handgun he had stolen from her roommate, according to a news release from federal prosecutors and a court filing in the plea agreement.

After the slaying, Smith fled across state lines to evade prosecution, traveling through Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas before entering New Mexico.

On March 15, Smith fatally shot Hare three times in the head and neck after Hare stopped to assist him with a flat tire west of Tucumcari on Interstate 40.

Smith then stole Hare's police cruiser with the wounded officer inside, driving for several minutes westward before crashing and abandoning the vehicle and dumping a still-alive Hare on a frontage road. Smith fled on foot.

Hare was found by law enforcement about an hour later, and he died of his injuries at a hospital later that morning.

Hare left behind a girlfriend and three children.

State police reports stated Smith then stole a pickup truck from a ranch house near Newkirk.

Law enforcement launched a manhunt for Smith and he was apprehended in Albuquerque on March 17 by Bernalillo County sheriff's deputies after a gas station employee recognized Smith and called police. Just before Smith's arrest, he tried to get rid of the murder weapon by tossing it over a fence, records show.

Smith pleaded guilty to carjacking resulting in death, using and carrying a firearm during a crime of violence, kidnapping resulting in death, being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm and possession of a stolen firearm.

A formal sentencing has not been scheduled but Smith faces a mandatory life sentence without the possibility of parole.

The U.S. Department of Justice previously determined it would not seek the death penalty for Smith for the incidents that occurred in New Mexico.

The Marion County Sheriff's Office in South Carolina, in a statement Friday, called the plea an "incredible step forward" and said "charges are still pending" against Smith in Machado-Fore's death.

Garcia admitted to having mixed feelings to federal prosecutors taking the death penalty off the table for Smith in New Mexico, but he acknowledged such a sentence would lead to many years of appeals.

"It's the first step of justice for Officer Hare, and that's right," Garcia added.

Said U.S. Attorney Alexander Uballez in a news release:

"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. Today, I commit myself to the people of New Mexico. 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."

Said Troy Weisler, chief of the New Mexico State Police:

"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. 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 FBI Albuquerque Field Office and New Mexico State Police investigated the case with aid from the 10th Judicial District Attorney's Office in Tucumcari and the Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office.