Man Pleads Guilty To Charges In Pee Dee Paramedic’s Death

Phonesia Machado-Fore's body was found at a home on Jones Drive in Marion County soon after she was reported missing.

The man accused of killing a Pee Dee paramedic has now pleaded guilty.

35-year-old Jaremy Smith was indicted by a grand jury in January, 2026 on several charges in Phonesia Machado-Fore’s death. She was reported missing in March, 2024. Her body was soon found at a home on Jones Drive in Marion County. Smith is accused of shooting her “execution-style.”

That same day, her vehicle was involved in a deadly roadside ambush of a New Mexico officer who was identified as Justin Hare. Smith pleaded guilty to Hare’s death last year before being sentenced to life in prison without parole.

Smith has now pleaded guilty to federal charges in Machado-Fore’s killing. In that case, he faces a mandatory penalty of life in federal prison, as well as a fine of up to $250,000, restitution, and a term of supervision to follow his imprisonment. He will be sentenced at a later date.