Marion County man accused in New Mexico officer’s killing arrested at least a dozen times in South Carolina since 2007
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WBTW) — A Marion County man accused of gunning down a New Mexico State Police officer remained in a hospital Monday morning, according to Nexstar affiliate KRQE.
Jaremy Smith, 32, also has an extensive criminal history in South Carolina dating back 15 years and logging more than a dozen felonies, according to records obtained Monday by News13.
Smith, who is also a person of interest in last week’s disappearance and killing of Pee Dee paramedic Phonesia Machado-Fore, was shot multiple times by sheriff’s deputies before his arrest on Sunday in an Albuquerque neighborhood, authorities said. No information about his injuries was immediately available.
Timeline: What’s happened so far in the case of slain Pee Dee paramedic Phonesia Machado-Fore
Bernalillo County Sheriff John Allen said Sunday that Smith was hit multiple times and was under guard at an area hospital as he recovers before answering on charges including first-degree murder. Because of his injuries, it’s unclear when Smith could make a court appearance.
Smith was allegedly driving Machado-Fore’s vehicle early Friday morning when he shot and killed New Mexico State Police Officer Justin Hare, who had stopped to assist him with his broken-down vehicle on Interstate 40 in New Mexico, police said.
Authorities have not said how Smith, 32, and Machado-Fore, 52, were connected. Machado-Fore’s body was recovered on Friday in Lake View in Dillon County. Earlier Friday, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office said Machado-Fore had been missing since Tuesday from her home in Marion.
News13 on Monday requested Smith’s criminal history through the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, which reveals he was first arrested before his 17th birthday.
In July 2007, Smith was charged with five counts of felony assault and a misdemeanor of malicious injury to property.
Eight months later, he was convicted of receiving stolen goods and grand larceny, which got him two years of probation.
Smith got three more felony charges between March 17 and June 3, 2008 on charges of second-degree assault, probation violation, second-degree burglary and second-degree grand larceny, getting another two years of probation.
Smith was hit with another count of grand larceny in August 2008. By October, he was in prison, given up to six years for burglary and grand larceny.
Records show Smith had been released by September 2010, but his parole was revoked.
In 2015, Smith was incarcerated at the Kirkland Correctional Institution in Columbia on charges of armed robbery and hostage taking by an inmate.
He was released by Oct 2018, when he picked up his most recent charges of possession or furnishing contraband.
Dennis Bright is a Digital Producer at News13. He joined the team in May 2021. Dennis is a West Virginia native and a graduate of Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia. Follow Dennis on, Facebook, X, formerly Twitter, and read more of his work here.
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Adam Benson joined the News13 digital team in January 2024. He is a veteran South Carolina reporter with previous stops at the Greenwood Index-Journal, Post & Courier and The Sun News in Myrtle Beach. Adam is a Boston native and University of Utah graduate. Follow Adam on X, formerly Twitter, at @AdamNewshound12. See more of his work here.
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