A 52-year-old New London man who was representing himself when he went on trial Tuesday in New London Superior Court for allegedly selling heroin decided he wanted a lawyer after he began to cross-examine the state's first witness, a state police detective from the Statewide Narcotics Task Force.

Ernesto Quinones, formerly of 115 Blinman St., has been held in lieu of $155,000 since he was arrested in April 2015. He fired four attorneys, including Wade Luckett, while his case was pending and was "pro se," or representing himself, as the trial got underway before a jury of six regular members and one alternate.

Quinones began cross-examining Det. Nathan Charron before the lunch break. When Judge Barbara Bailey Jongbloed resumed the bench after lunch, Quinones asked outside the presence of the jury if Luckett, who was sitting with him as "stand-by counsel" in case he needed advice, could take over.

The judge allowed Quinones and Luckett to trade seats at the defense table after explaining that Luckett would be representing Quinones for the remainder of the trial.

"I'm not going to let you change your mind again," Jongbloed said.

Quinones was charged with two counts of selling heroin after a confidential informant working with the police bought small amounts of heroin from him on two occasions in March 2015, according to testimony. He also is charged with violation of probation, having been under state supervision for a drunken driving conviction at the time of his arrest.

Quinones additionally was charged with operating a drug factory and possession of a controlled substance after the task force searched his home at 115 Blinman St., but those cases are being tried separately.

Charron testified that the task force's investigation of Quinones began after Groton Town police Patrolman Anthony LaFleur, a task force member, reached out to a woman who had provided information after being arrested for shoplifting in Groton. Raquel Johnson agreed to make two controlled purchases and received approximately $60 to $80 for each purchase, Charron testified.

On March 19 and 25, 2015, the task force asked Johnson to arrange purchases from Quinones via cellphone, searched her and her car for money or contraband, then followed her to Quinones' house. Other task force members were in place on Blinman Street conducting surveillance, according to testimony. On both occasions, Charron said Johnson came out of the house and drove to a prearranged location, where she handed over the bags of heroin.

Charron said the task force sometimes wires informants to record controlled purchases, but that the equipment was not working at the time and could not immediately be replaced.

LaFleur, who served as case officer for the Quinones matter, will not be testifying at the trial, since he is deployed overseas with the U.S. Army, according to testimony.

Prosecutor Paul J. Narducci placed the sealed bags of brownish-white heroin into evidence and passed them to the jury so that they could see how the drug was packaged. One of the purchases had come in the corner of a knotted plastic bag and the other in wax bags.

Under cross-examination, Luckett brought up several possible flaws with the state's case, including the task force's failure to wire the informant and the presence of other people inside the Blinman Street house who could have sold the informant the drugs. He noted that drug users often hide narcotics in their body cavities but said the task force did not conduct a cavity search of the informant.

One of the task force members who was watching the Blinman Street home in an unmarked car during the purchases was Special Agent Keith Warzecha of the Drug Enforcement Administration, who has conducted narcotics enforcement throughout the country for the past 21 years and who previously worked for the Central Intelligence Agency.

"The object is to blend in with the environment," Warzecha, called as the state's second witness, testified.

He said he was present when the task force raided Quinones' apartment on April 7, 2015. He testified that Quinones, taken to Troop E for processing, waived his rights and, in a "forthright and cordial" manner, answered the investigators' questions. The interrogation was recorded, and despite Quinones' efforts to keep it from the jury, may be aired as the trial continues.

Patrolman David Holliday of the Groton City Police Department had assumed the witness stand when the trial broke for the day Tuesday.

k.florin@theday.com