Custer County triple homicide suspect in custody
By Ben Warwick, Olivia Young
The suspect in the Custer County, Colorado triple homicide has been arrested by New Mexico State Police after a 25-hour manhunt, officials said Tuesday afternoon.
Three people are dead and another has been critically injured after a shooting Monday afternoon near the town of Westcliffe over a property dispute.
In a news conference Tuesday afternoon, Custer County Sheriff Rich Smith said Clark was captured just after 2:45 p.m. He was taken into custody without incident and no one was injured during the course of the arrest, Smith said.
Clark’s girlfriend was in Clark’s truck with him earlier in the day Tuesday. They were stopped in New Mexico by a task force of state and federal law enforcement officers.
Around 2:30 p.m. Monday afternoon, Custer County law enforcement issued a shelter-in-place order for the Rocky Ridge Road area in the northern part of Custer County, northeast of Westcliffe. It has since been lifted.
“This is a quiet, peaceful town, nothing like this has ever happened,” said Rich Smith, Custer County Sheriff.
The suspect was identified by law enforcement as 45-year-old Hanme Clark. He was believed to be driving a white Dodge truck, license plate BHLK27. The suspect and at least one of the victims were known to be in previous civil disputes over property lines and easements.
Law enforcement officials identified the victims as Rob Geers, 63, Beth Wade, 73, and James Daulton. Patty Daulton was injured in the shooting and is recovering, Smith said.
The Geers were Clark’s neighbors, Smith said. Other details of the property dispute law enforcement officials alluded to were not immediately available.
“We have received calls form the suspect complaining about the neighbors and from the neighbors complaining bout the suspect but never imagined it would have ended in a place like this,” Smith said.
Custer County is about 150 miles south of Denver.
Officers say they discovered that Clark’s truck had entered the parking lot of the Walmart in Salida and an occupant of the truck went inside and purchased several items. They then left the store and the truck went toward the Methodist Mountain residential area.
“The people living at the left side would not allow people to go down that road,” said Harley Gordon, a neighbor.
Clark also appears to be an accomplished mixed martial arts fighter in Colorado. A post from Pancrase MMA in Denver lists one of their fighters as Hanme Clark who uses the nickname “The Ruiner.” They list him as being 6’3″ and 185 pounds with a purple belt ll in Pancrase Mixed Martial Arts, black belt lll in Taekwondo and experience fighting in Kendo, a Japanese sword-fighting style. He also has several titles through Pancrase.
The organization also lists a news item on its website that reads, “Former Pancrase Student and Colorado MMA Fighter Wanted for Shooting 4,” which links to a Daily Mail story about Clark being sought by police.
Court records show a man with the same name as Clark is a plaintiff in a property dispute in Custer County civil court. That case dates back to 2020 and is still open.
None of the victims in Monday’s shooting were named in that lawsuit and it wasn’t immediately clear if or how they were connected.
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2 people arrested, charged with possible triple murder in New Mexico
by: Jocelyn Flores
Posted: Jan 31, 2025 / 05:49 PM MST
Updated: Feb 5, 2025 / 05:13 PM MST
EDITOR’S NOTE: The Alamogordo District Attorney’s Office sent a corrected news release on Wednesday, Feb. 5, that this triple homicide was committed in Bent, New Mexico and not in Nogal, New Mexico.
The story has been updated with the correct information.
EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — Two people were arrested and charged in connection to a possible triple murder in Otero County, New Mexico, the Alamogordo District Attorney’s Office said on Friday. Jan. 31.
Kane Mayes and Cassandra Douglas were charged with the murder of three individuals, according to the 12th Judicial District Attorney’s Office in Alamogordo.
Mayes was charged with three counts of first-degree murder, three counts of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, aggravated burglary, three counts of tampering with evidence, arson, two counts of unlawful taking of a vehicle and conspiracy to commit unlawful taking of a vehicle.
Douglas was charged with three counts of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and tampering with evidence.
On Wednesday, Jan. 22, the 12th Judicial District Major Crimes Unit was called to investigate a homicide in Bent, New Mexico. That is roughly 25 miles north of Alamogordo.
According to the DA’s Office, investigators found three dead individuals and issued a “Be On the Look Out” alert for a vehicle in connection to the scene.
Investigators actively worked the case for roughly one week and traveled to Roswell and Mississippi to execute search warrants and conduct more interviews.
According to the DA’s Office, warrants for arrest were then issued for Mayes and Douglas.
Mayes was served a warrant and was arrested on Wednesday, Jan. 29 in Mississippi. He is awaiting extradition to New Mexico, the DA’s Office said.
Douglas was served a warrant and was arrested on Monday, Jan. 27 in Roswell. She was transported to the Otero County Detention Center and arraigned in Magistrate Court on Friday, Jan. 31, the DA’s Office said.
Douglas is being held without bond and is pending a review of conditions of release hearing.
The 12th Judicial District Major Crimes Unit is made up of investigators from the 12th Judicial District Attorney’s Office, Alamogordo Police Department, Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, Otero County Sheriff’s Office and the Ruidoso Police Department.
Suspect in fatal New Mexico State Police officer shooting captured: Officials
“I was scared,” said the gas station clerk who called 911 on the suspect.
March 18, 2024, 9:55 PM
2:20
Suspect in fatal shooting of New Mexico police officer capturedPolice said they spotted Jaremy Smith driving a car in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and that he led deputies on a chase that ended in his arrest.
New Mexico State Police
The suspect wanted in the killings of a New Mexico state trooper and a South Carolina paramedic was captured Sunday after an eagle-eyed gas station clerk called 911, authorities said.
The suspect, Jaremy Smith, was taken into custody in Bernalillo County, New Mexico, after leading police on a foot chase that resulted in him being shot and wounded by at least one deputy from the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office, according to the New Mexico State Police.
Smith is suspected in the fatal shooting of New Mexico State police officer Justin Hare early Friday and the slaying of Phonesia Machado-Fore, a South Carolina paramedic who was reported missing on Thursday, authorities said.
The 33-year-old suspect, who was identified on Saturday by police, was the subject of a massive manhunt. Smith’s arrest came less than 24 hours after New Mexico State Police Chief Troy Weisler said, “Jaremy Smith, we are coming for you.”
“Yesterday, we said we would bring Jaremy Smith to justice. There was nowhere that he could run, and there was nowhere he could hide,” Weisler said during a news conference. “Today, thanks to our community, to our fellow law enforcement partners, we were able to do that.”
Bernalillo County Sheriff John Allen said a clerk at a Murphy Express gas station in Albuquerque recognized a customer matching Smith’s description around 7 a.m. local time Sunday and called police. When officers arrived at the scene, they spotted Smith walking on a road in a residential neighborhood and immediately started to establish a perimeter, Allen added.
“A foot pursuit ensued, shots were fired. Some shots struck Smith. We don’t know the amount right now or how many. That’s still under investigation,” he said.
Allen said Smith was taken to a local hospital, where he was under guard and being treated.
“When a law enforcement officer is killed anywhere in the state of New Mexico, we stand as a unified front,” Allen said, praising the work of federal, state and local law enforcement “who worked as a team to make sure we took someone that was very dangerous to the public, all of our communities, into custody.”
No deputies were injured in the incident, officials said.
Murphy Express gas station clerk Samentha Reynolds told ABC News that she called 911 after carding Smith when he bought a pack of cigarettes and used his real ID.
Reynolds said she recognized Smith immediately from his wanted posters and confirmed her suspicions by the unusual spelling of Jaremy on his driver’s license.
“I was nervous. I was scared. I didn’t know if he was armed. Actually, when I carded him, I was like, ‘Is he going to shoot me,'” Reynolds said. “But I wanted to do what was right for the family [of Officer Hare], for my community and to back the blue.”
MORE: Suspect in New Mexico trooper shooting had ‘extensive’ criminal history, linked to woman found dead
Hare was gunned down around 5 a.m. Friday after answering a call to help a disabled motorist on Interstate 40 near Tucumcari, about 235 miles east of Albuquerque near the Texas border, officials said.
When Hare pulled up behind the disabled BMW, the suspect exited the vehicle and approached the officer’s passenger side window, Weisler said.
“A short conversation ensued about repairing his tire and possibly getting a ride back to town when, without warning, the suspect pulled out a firearm and shot Officer Hare,” Weisler said during Saturday’s news conference.
The suspect then walked to the driver’s side of the patrol car and allegedly shot Hare again, Weisler said. He alleged that Smith pushed Hare into the passenger seat and drove off in the patrol car with the mortally wounded officer.
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When Hare did not return several attempts to contact him, an officer was sent to the scene and saw Hare’s patrol car driving at a high speed on a frontage road along the Interstate 40 road, Weisler said. Hare managed to set off a distress signal, sending an emergency signal to dispatch, police said.
MORE: Video 3 civilians dead, 2 cops hurt in New Mexico shooting: Police
Police eventually located the patrol car, crashed and empty, Weisler said. Hare was later found critically injured by the side of a road and taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
During the investigation, police learned the car Smith was driving at the time of the encounter with Hare was registered to Machado-Fore, a paramedic for Florence County, South Carolina, Emergency Medical Services, authorities said.
Machado-Fore was found dead outside of Lake View in Dillon County, South Carolina, on Friday after she had been reported missing by her family, according to the Marion County Sheriff’s Office. An autopsy has been scheduled for Monday.
Smith has an “extensive” criminal history dating back decades in South Carolina and has ties to the Albuquerque area, Weisler said.
Before Smith’s arrest, warrants were issued charging him with Hare’s murder.
Weisler said the investigation is continuing and police are searching for anyone who assisted Smith in getting to Albuquerque.
“We will be tirelessly searching for any ledes and any individuals that we discover were involved with that,” Weisler said.
Hare’s girlfriend, Daizzare, the mother of his two daughters who is pregnant with their third child, released a statement Sunday describing Hare as “an amazing son, father, spouse and Police Officer.”
“The role he played in the lives of his family and those close to him will never be forgotten,” she wrote. “The fact that he put his heart into every single thing that he did was the epitome of who Justin was. It’s so hard to put his life and who he was into paragraphs because he was indescribable.”
She added, “Justin loved me and our family. He always went above and beyond to ensure we had everything we needed. Not just financially or materialistic, but he was constantly present. He always let the girls and I know that we were his priority.”
ABC News’ Clarissa Gonzalez contributed to this report.
