DE BACA COUNTY, N.M. (KFDA) – New Mexico State Police have released new details on the capture of both Fort Sumner shooting suspects.

On Feb. 23, NMSP Investigations Bureau agents were requested to investigate an officer-involved shooting involving a NMSP Sergeant on US Highway 285, south of Vaughn in Guadalupe County, New Mexico.

Agents learned that the NMSP Sergeant conducted a traffic stop on a black Kia Sportage on US Highway 285, near mile marker 185, after learning the car was reportedly stolen.

Officials say during the stop, the female driver identified as 26-year-old Makaela Johnson, exited the car. As the Sergeant was placing Johnson in handcuffs, the male passenger, identified as 40-year-old Jovan Martinez, exited the stolen car with a rifle and fired at the Sergeant.

Police say Johnson ran back to the stolen car while still handcuffed and entered the passenger seat as the Sergeant took cover behind his police unit and returned fire with his duty weapon.

Martinez and Johnson fled from the scene and officers lost sight of the car.

While responding to the incident, NMSP officers encountered a couple near mile marker 166, who reported that their car had just been stolen at gunpoint.

The couple stated that Martinez and Johnson were standing in the roadway and Martinez fired a least one shot at the ground, forcing the couple to stop.

According to officials, the couple was ordered out of their car, which was a grey Kia K5 passenger vehicle.

Martinez and Johnson then took the second Kia and continued fleeing.

Officials say the original stolen Kia Sportage involved in the traffic stop was later located near the intersection of US Highway 285 and New Mexico State Highway 247.

The car left the roadway and drove through two barbed wire fences before coming to a rest in an open field.

According to police, the second stolen Kia K5 was found abandoned east of the intersection of River Road and Lone Wolf Road, south of Fort Sumner, New Mexico.

On Feb. 25, following a two-day manhunt, Martinez and Johnson were located hiding in a shed and taken into custody outside of Fort Sumner.

They were booked without incident on the following charges:

jovan Martinez:

• Attempt to commit a felony, to WIT: first degree murder(willful or deliberate)
• Aggravated assault upon a Peace Officer (deadly weapon)
• Receipt, transportation or possession of a firearm or destructive device by a felon
• Conspiracy to commit receiving or transferring stolen motor vehicles
• Armed robbery
• Harboring a felon
• Aggravated fleeing a law enforcement officer (no injury or great bodily harm)

Makaela Johnson:

• Conspiracy to commit first degree murder (willful or deliberate)
• Conspiracy to commit aggravated assault upon a Peace Officer (deadly weapon)
• Conspiracy to commit armed robbery
• Harboring a felon
• Receiving or transferring stolen motor vehicles
• Escape or attempt to escape from Peace Officer
• Larceny ($250 or less)

Officials say no officers were injured during this incident.

This incident remains under investigation by the New Mexico State Investigations Bureau.

The identity of the NMSP Sergeant will not be released until interviews are completed. The Sergeant has been placed on standard administrative leave.

New Mexico State Police act solely as factfinders in their investigation and conduct an unbiased and impartial investigation. In officer involved shootings, NMSP thoroughly documents the scene, collects evidence, and interviews officers, subjects, and witnesses.

The New Mexico State Police does not determine whether an officer’s actions were justified, this determination rests solely with the district attorney’s office.

Copyright 2026 KFDA. All rights reserved.

Albuquerque, NM and Florence, SC –

Today, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of South Carolina announced that it filed a notice of intent to seek the death penalty against Jaremy Alexander Smith, 35, of Marion, South Carolina, for the 2024 kidnapping, carjacking, and murder of a Marion County EMS Paramedic. A federal grand jury returned a superseding indictment on Feb. 24 charging Smith with kidnapping resulting in death, carjacking resulting in death, using a firearm during a crime of violence in a manner constituting murder, possession of stolen firearms, and being a felon in possession of firearms.

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According to the federal indictment, on March 13, 2024, Smith entered the home of Phonesia Machado-Fore in Marion, kidnapped her, and forced her to drive to a remote location near Nichols. There, Smith executed Machado-Fore behind an abandoned house.

Investigators reportedly found Machado-Fore wearing slippers and her bedroom clothing with a shock collar around her neck. They located cut zip ties near her body, and her face was covered in blood-soaked material, with plastic tape secured around her mouth. She had a single gunshot wound to the back of her head.

Smith then drove Machado-Fore’s vehicle back to her residence, stole several firearms, and later sold them. Afterward, Smith drove the stolen vehicle to New Mexico, where he killed New Mexico State Police Officer Justin Hare on March 15, 2024.

Federal prosecutors have decided to prosecute Smith for the death of Machado-Fore, a case that initially saw him facing 17 state charges in South Carolina.

On January 17th, 2025, a sea of grey and black New Mexico State uniforms packed the courtroom of U.S. District Judge James Browning for the change of plea hearing for cop and paramedic killer Jaremy Smith. The State Police officers were there to support Officer Hare’s family as Smith sat in the courtroom. On that date, Smith accepted a plea deal proposed by the then-U.S. Attorney for New Mexico, Alexander M.M. Uballez. (Continues below photo)

Smith could be seen smiling and laughing with his attorneys. When Smith’s was asked to answer questions, his answers were smug with a “Yes, sir,” to Judge Browning.

In April 2025, the U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico sentenced Smith to life in prison for killing Officer Hare.

New Mexico State Police Officer Justin Hare’s parents wanted the death penalty in their son’s murder.

Attorney General Pamela Bondi authorized federal prosecutors in the District of South Carolina to seek capital punishment in this case. Smith is scheduled for arraignment in federal court on Feb. 26, 2026 at 2:30 p.m. in Florence, South Carolina.

The FBI Columbia Field Office, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED), and the Marion County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Everett McMillian and Christopher Lietzow are prosecuting the case, with support from DOJ Capital Case Section Trial Attorneys Barry Disney and Julie Adams.

The charges in the indictment are allegations only. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until the government proves guilt beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

DE BACA COUNTY, N.M. (KFDA) – New Mexico State Police have identified the man who shot at an officer near Fort Sumner as the search continues for both him and his accomplice.

Officials say the man who shot at a New Mexico State Police officer has been identified as 39-year-old Jovan Martinez.

According to police, Martinez and his accomplice, identified as 26-year-old Makaela Johnson, are believed to be armed and dangerous and have active felony warrants for their arrest.

New Mexico State Police, along with local law enforcement partners, are actively searching for the pair.

If you see either individual, do not approach them. Please call 911 immediately.

Copyright 2026 KFDA. All rights reserved.