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Wife of Alamance County murder suspect charged with obstruction of justice

The wife of a man charged with murder was arrested in March for obstruction of justice.

GREEN LEVEL, N.C. — Editor's note: The attached video is from a news conference following the incident in 2021.

The wife of a murder suspect in a 2021 double homicide was arrested and charged with obstruction of justice.

The Alamance County Sheriff's Office said Santana Stewart was arrested March 30 by Durham police officers.

The sheriff's office said Stewart lied to deputies during the investigation, deleted text messages between her and husband on the day of the murders and picked him up after the shooting happened.

Stewart is the wife of Steven Stewart and sister of Barney Harris. Harris died April 8, 2021 after a shootout in Green Level with a Mexican drug cartel.

Investigators said Harris and Stewart tied up suspected cartel member Alonso Beltran Lara and shot him in the back of the head before a shootout started. Lara later died at a hospital. Harris was shot and killed during the gunfire. Harris was found inside the house shot multiple times. Investigators said Harris was wearing a bulletproof vest that did not protect him from the ammunition used in the shooting

Alamance County Sheriff Terry Jonson said the crime scene looked "like an old western shootout" following the incident. Other mobile homes in the area were struck by bullets. No one at any other home was injured during the shootout

Steven Stewart faces murder charges and is being held without bond.

His wife, Santana, was given a $10,000 bond. She has a court date on July 20 in Alamance County.

Another man, Gar-yon-ded-weh Stepney also faces a murder charge. The Alamance County Sheriff's Office, with help from U.S. Marshals, found Stepney in Greensboro on July 19, 2021. He did not receive a bond.

During the investigation, detectives seized five guns, about $7,000 in cash, and 1.2 kilograms of suspected cocaine. Two vehicles that were involved in the shootout were also found: one in Guilford County and one in Alamance County.

Harris was a high school Spanish teacher and varsity basketball coach at Union Academy. Investigators believe he'd been to Alamance County at least one other time, based on video that was found on his cellphone.

   

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