New Mexico police officer shot, killed during traffic stop

He had been an officer with the department for two years.

The 38-year-old driver was in stable condition Saturday, police said.

James Hanes, 38, of OH, and James Nelson, a passenger in the vehicle, were both taken into custody Friday night in Rincon after a multiple agency response.

Hanes’ arrest came after a dramatic vehicle pursuit, a carjacking and the shooting of a bystander whose auto Hanes stole, police said. Nelson is being held on a fugitive warrant. A hitchhiker who was in the auto won’t be charged, the spokeswoman said.

HATCH, N.M. (AP) An Ohio fugitive wanted for murder has been arrested in the fatal shooting of a New Mexico police officer.

Hanes was wanted in OH in the July 25 shooting death of a 62-year-old man just outside Chillicothe, about 60 miles south of Columbus. They could not say yet why Hanes and Nelson were in New Mexico.

Federal and local authorities plan to release more information about the fatal shooting of New Mexico police officer by a suspected fugitive from OH during a news conference Saturday.

Jose Chavez, a 33-year-old officer with Hatch’s police department, was airlifted to a hospital about 80 miles away in El Paso, Texas, where he died Friday evening after surgery, Hatch Mayor Andrew Nunez and local authorities said. It warned that the two men have a violent criminal history.

Hanes, who was driving a luxury auto with two passengers, then fled and allegedly carjacked a man at a rest stop before shooting him in the stomach.

This story has corrected to show that the age of suspect Jesse Hanes is 38, not 36.

A man charged with “willful and deliberate first-degree murder” of a police officer in New Mexico is also wanted for murder in OH, authorities said.

A 33-year-old Hatch Police officer has died after he was shot during a routine traffic stop Friday afternoon.

Since both now face charges in both OH and New Mexico, it’s likely New Mexico will prosecute the two first.

Hanes was sought in OH in the July 25 shooting death of a 62-year-old man just outside Chillicothe, about 60 miles south of Columbus.

Authorities said that after the deadly confrontation, Hanes fled on Interstate 25, where he is suspected of carjacking and shooting a man at a rest stop.

The officer had just arrived at the traffic stop when a passenger got out of the vehicle and fired shots.

Chavez was standing outside the passenger’s door when Hanes reached through the window and shot him, police said. Authorities caught up with all three suspects, one of whom had a gunshot wound to the leg.