HE WAS WRONG, AND HE MADE A MISTAKE

That's how former Onslow County sheriff's deputy, Luis Alers,
described his decision to bring a duffel bag filled with 4 pounds of
marijuana and two handguns from his dead nephew's apartment to the
home of a woman he knew used drugs and was considered an informant by
law enforcement. Alers, 44, who is on trial this week in Onslow County
Superior Court on charges that he possessed marijuana, testified
Wednesday afternoon. Prior to his Feb. 21, 2005, arrest, Alers worked
for the Sheriff's Department for about three years. He had worked in
the narcotics division for about four months when he was fired on the
day of his arrest.

Throughout his testimony, Alers, a retired Marine first sergeant,
remained calm. He held a set of rosary beads in his hands. His two
daughters, who were in the gallery, were emotional while he was
questioned. At one point - and at the objection of Assistant District
Attorney Mike Maultsby - Alers attempted to apologize to his kids.
Superior Court Judge Paul Jones, who is presiding over the case, told
Alers he couldn't address his family from the stand.

Maultsby, who along with Assistant District Attorney Stephanie
Villiver is prosecuting the case, pressed Alers during
cross-examination about the choices he made prior to his arrest,
including his decision to have a sexual relationship with Nicole
Ortiz, who Maultsby referred to as an "informant." "Didn't you know
you weren't supposed to get involved with an informant?" Maultsby asked.

"I knew I was wrong," Alers testified. "I knew I made a mistake." "You
knew you just couldn't give evidence to an informant or any citizen,"
Maultsby said.

"That was a very big mistake and bad judgment on my part," Alers said.
The Sheriff's Department learned on the morning of Feb. 21, 2005,
through information provided by informant Sharon Johnson, that Alers
brought the duffel bag with drugs and guns to the home of Ortiz.
Ortiz, who had at least one sexual encounter with Alers, was friends
with Johnson and frequently drove her when she made drug buys for law
enforcement. The Sheriff's Department called in the SBI to help
investigate the claim against Alers and set up surveillance. At some
point that day, they watched Alers retrieve the duffel bag with the
drugs from Ortiz at the Trade Mart on New Bridge Street. When he
didn't drive directly to the Sheriff's Department with the bag, they
pulled him over and took him into custody. While his attorney Ed
Bailey questioned him, Alers testified that his nephew, Edgar
Montanez, was killed in car wreck in Duplin County early on Feb. 20,
2005. Alers didn't want Montanez's mother to be embarrassed, so Alers
volunteered to clean Montanez's home, which was in downtown
Jacksonville and in a house divided into four apartments. Alers
brought Ortiz to the apartment with him on Feb. 20, 2005, so she could
help him clean. He said he was expecting to find X-rated magazines or
videos and a small amount of drugs.

"I wanted to make sure there was nothing embarrassing for his mother,"
he said. When he and Ortiz were in what he believed was his nephew's
apartment, they found two handguns, about 4 pounds of marijuana, a
scale and a lock box. "When I found the marijuana, I was very upset
and I wanted out of that place quick," Alers said.

They packed the items up in a duffel bag, and Ortiz offered to keep it
at her house. Ortiz, who also testified Wednesday, said she took some
loose marijuana off a table in the apartment and put it in her pocket.
She said she didn't know whether Alers saw her do it, but she
testified that he did know she used marijuana.

Ortiz testified that she and Alers were worried about the drugs in the
duffel bag.

"It is illegal," she said. "Anything over a half an ounce is a felony.
He told me it was wrong. He is a police officer, but because of the
situation he was in he didn't know what to do."

Alers testified that he planned to turn the drugs in at the Sheriff's
Department, but before he did he wanted to explain the situation to
Montanez's father, Julio Montanez.

"It was a bad decision on my part," Alers said. "I wanted to tell
Julio exactly what his son was doing. ... I wanted to let him know.
. I knew I was going to lose family, but I knew I was going to do
the right thing. It was getting turned in."

Alers said it wasn't safe to leave 4 pounds of marijuana in the
apartment so he moved it to Ortiz's house. On the morning of Feb. 21,
2005, Alers went to Ortiz's house to pick up the lock box. Julio
Montanez was in his vehicle, and he wanted to show him the lock box to
explain the situation. Maultsby questioned why he didn't just show him
the 4 pounds of marijuana. He asked why Alers didn't pick up the
contents of the duffel bag at that time and take it to the Sheriff's
Department. Maultsby asked why he just didn't take a photograph of
everything to show his nephew's father. "Did you really think you
should take drugs to an informant's house?" Maultsby asked.

"To be truthful, I didn't think," Alers said. "I just reacted." Alers
testified that later in the day on Feb. 21, 2005, he returned to what
he believed to be his nephew's apartment and found a bag of more than
600 pills. At the time, Alers thought the pills were ecstasy. SBI lab
tests later showed the pills contained no controlled substance and
were made from milk sugar.

Alers said he brought the pills to his house and left them in his
bedroom. He also realized after talking to the girlfriend of one of
his nephew's friends that he was in the wrong apartment, he testified.
Alers said he found the marijuana, the pills, the guns and the lock
box in the upstairs apartment, but his nephew lived in the downstairs
apartment. When Alers was questioned by SBI agent Joseph Zawistowski,
Alers told the agent that the pills were on the nightstand in his
bedroom, which is where authorities found them.

Bailey asked all the law enforcement officers involved in the case who
testified if anyone searched the upstairs apartment. They all said
that the downstairs apartment where Edgar Montanez lived was searched.
No one knew whether the upstairs apartment was searched.

Bailey asked Zawistowski if Alers cooperated. "He certainly answered
my questions and wanted to tell me what his story was," Zawistowski
said.

The prosecution finished presenting its evidence Wednesday. Johnson,
the informant who provided the initial information about Alers to
authorities, didn't testify. The defense is expected to put on several
witnesses today when the trial continues at 9:30 a.m.