Following a shoot-out with law enforcement, a man accused of killing a New Mexico State Police officer while driving a car belonging to a murdered South Carolina paramedic was arrested Sunday.
Early Friday morning, State Police officer Justin Hare was called upon to assist a motorist with a flat tire, Police Chief Troy Weisler said at a press conference Saturday.
The suspect, Jaremy Alexander Smith, a South Carolina resident, allegedly shot the officer before bolting from the scene, according to the Bernalillo County Sheriff's office, said, People.
Authorities claim Smith had been driving a white BMW that belonged to South Carolina parademic Phonesia Machado-Fore, whose body was found Friday evening, as reported by The Marion County Sheriff's Office.
After a two-day manhunt, Smith was apprehended in Albuquerque following a gunshot wound to his foot.
Smith is considered a person of interest in Machado-Fore's death but has yet to be charged in relation to the crime, as he remains in New Mexico on a murder warrant.
It remains unclear as to whether Smith has been officially charged in Hare's death. However, before his arrest, New Mexico State Police disclosed it had issued an arrest warrant for him on several charges, including first-degree murder and armed robbery.
"Officer Hare died serving his state and his community," Weisler said Saturday.
"On a cold, dark, and windy morning, he offered help to a person he thought was in need. That person killed him in cold blood."
"Mrs. Fore was one of us, a fellow first responder," Marion County Sheriff Brian Wallace says in a statement.
"Her death is senseless. Our community has suffered a tremendous loss. My team and I will not stop until we bring the person or persons responsible for her death to justice."
A prior connection, if any, between Smith and Machado-Fore has not been confirmed.
