Alamance connects Anson man to cartel murder, burglary

WADESBORO — The Wadesboro Police Department assisted law enforcement from Alamance County to arrest Steven Alexander Stewart III, where he is connected to the murder of a Mexican drug cartel member.

Deputies with the Alamance Sheriff’s Department believe Stewart, 32, was with his brother-in-law Barney Harris at a “stash house” for a Jalisco New Generation cartel in Green Level, N.C. Stewart and Harris were allegedly attempting to rob the house on April 8.

Vehicles were caught on camera near the crime scene, which led the Alamance County Sheriff’s Department to Stewart. Stewart was arrested on April 11 and charged with first-degree burglary, first-degree murder and possession of a weapon by a felon.

A search of Stewart’s home in Wadesboro turned up firearms and related objects tied to the crime, according to Alamance County Sheriff Terry Johnson.

Stewart’s court session is scheduled for May 3. He is being held without bond for the murder charge and his bond on his charge of burglary is set at $300,000.

The Alamance County Sheriff’s Office received numerous calls about shots going off in the mobile home park on the night of April 8.

“Our officers responded and upon arrival found two individuals…they had been shot,” Johnson said in a press conference. “…What was found was over 30 some shell casings, in the trailer and outside the trailer, and three other mobile homes in that particular part with bullet holes in them.”

Harris, a Union County teacher and basketball coach, was declared dead at the scene. Alonso Beltran Lara, cartel member, died later at the hospital.

Investigators believe Lara lived in the mobile home and worked as a drug runner for the cartel. Harris apparently Harris arrived to the home before Lara came home. Once Lara entered, Harris tied Lara’s hands behind his back and his feet were bound, according to the sheriff’s office.

“He was shot at some point in time during this, two times in the back of the head, execution style,” Johnson said. “The trailer looked like it had been ransacked, looking for money or drugs or both.”

The sheriff’s office found a kilo of cocaine in a bag near where Lara was laying. Harris was found in the bedroom shot multiple times. He was wearing a bulletproof vest, face covering and gloves, according to Johnson.

“You could tell it was almost like an old western shootout,” Johnson said, referring to the investigation having found multiple guns were used at the scene.

The Alamance County Sheriff’s Office is concerned that more violence will come as a result of the murder of Lara. Johnson wants to make sure individuals involved are protected and safe.

“To this day, as sheriff, I’m still worried about some retaliation because the Mexican cartels, they don’t forget,” Johnson said. “They’re going to pay somebody back, somewhere.”