KELLY OCONNELL AM 1450: Hatch Policeman Murdered

Hatch, NM. Police Officer Jose Chavez, 33, a heoro who died in the line of duty, was shot down during a routine traffic stop in this historic town. An Ohio fugitive already wanted for murder was arrested. The 38-year-old Jesse Hanes is suspected of gunning down Hatch Police Officer Jose Chavez, 33, during a traffic stop Friday.

Hanes fled and is suspected of carjacking a man at a rest stop before shooting him in the stomach. The man's condition is unknown.

Authorities say the deadly confrontation began when Chavez pulled over Hanes, who was driving a luxury car with two passengers, in the village of Hatch, about 40 miles northwest of Las Cruces. A fellow officer who arrived to assist Chavez said he saw him holding paperwork and reaching for his service weapon before he was shot and fell to the ground.

Hanes then fled on Interstate 25 at speeds up to 100 miles per hour before stopping at the rest stop, authorities said.

Sheriff's deputies spotted Hanes in the stolen vehicle and pursued, slowing it down by deflating the tires. The suspect crashed the vehicle into a pile of wood and briefly barricaded himself in the car before surrendering to deputies, Jameson said. The suspect had a gunshot wound to the right thigh which appeared to be self-inflicted, she said.

Witnesses say that after the police shooting, one of the suspects was seen approaching motorists and demanding their keys. Witnesses say when one driver refused to go with the suspect, he was shot in the torso once. The victim was transported to a trauma center in El Paso, condition is unknown.

Hanes' two passengers also were arrested. However, KRQE reports one of the men who was in the car when the shooting occurred is reportedly a hitchhiker and is being treated as a witness, not a suspect.

Chavez, who was shot in the neck, died at University Medical Center in El Paso, Texas. He had been an officer with the department for two years.