ALAMANCE COUNTY, N.C. — Another arrest has been made in connection with a shootout in 2021 that left a beloved Union County teacher and another man dead.
Santana Monique Stewart, 43, was arrested in March and charged with obstruction of justice. She is Steven Alexander Stewart’s wife, who has already been charged in the shooting. Steven is also the brother-in-law of Union Academy Spanish teacher and coach Barney Harris, who was killed in the shootout.
PAST COVERAGE:
- Man tied to drug cartel shootout that killed local teacher arrested in Greensboro
- ‘Armed and dangerous’ suspect sought in shootout involving local teacher, drug cartel
- 911 calls highlight chaotic shootout involving Union County teacher, drug cartel
- Union County teacher, coach killed in shootout with Mexican drug cartel, sheriff says
- ‘All love, No Fear’: Family, school mourn death of beloved Union County teacher
On April 8, 2021, Channel 9 learned that Harris and Steven Stewart went to a mobile home park on Wyatt Road in Green Level, North Carolina to steal money and drugs from the Sinaloa Cartel’s stash house.
Detectives said Harris and Steven Stewart broke into a trailer and Alonso Beltran Lara, 18, who was an alleged member of the cartel, showed up while they were inside. Deputies said the men questioned Lara about the stash and when he didn’t give them the answers they wanted, they shot him in the head.
Investigators said that after the pair killed Lara, other members of the cartel showed up and Harris was killed in the gunfight that followed.
Steven Stewart survived the shooting and was arrested days later on charges of first-degree burglary, first-degree murder and possession of a firearm by a felon.
Gar-yon-ded-weh Stepney, 41, who was wanted for months in connection with the shooting, was also arrested in July 2021 and charged with first-degree murder.
In March, Steven Stewart’s wife, Santana Stewart, was arrested for allegedly providing false statements to investigators, as well as deleting text messages between herself and her husband on the day of the shooting. An arrest warrant said she also picked up her husband after the deadly shootout, but told deputies that she didn’t know anything about what happened and was home that night.
No other details have been released at this point.
Anyone with any information on this case is asked to call the Alamance County Sheriff’s Office at 336-570-6300 to speak with a member of the Criminal Investigation Division or report anonymously by calling Alamance County Crime Stoppers at 336-229-7100.
(WATCH BELOW: Sheriff: Union County teacher, coach killed in shootout with Mexican drug cartel)
This browser does not support the video element.