FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — A Vietnam deserter who spent more than 36 years on the lam was behind bars Monday, awaiting word on his fate as authorities worked to decide if and how his case would be prosecuted.

Ernest Johnson Jr., 55, was arrested Thursday in Fort Worth on a federal warrant for military desertion — stemming from his 1969 decision to leave Camp Lejeune, N.C., where he was stationed with the Marines. Johnson said he deserted because he opposed the Vietnam War, telling the Fort Worth Star-Telegram in a jailhouse interview Friday that the war was “a mistake from Day One.’’

He spent the next three decades drifting between California, Oregon, Arizona, Indiana, Michigan and Texas, where he was living with his girlfriend in Fort Worth when officials arrested him Thursday.

Johnson, who used the surname McQueen throughout his life, remained in custody Monday in Mansfield Jail without bail as authorities decided whether he would be sent to North Carolina to face charges. If court-martialed and found guilty, he could be sentenced to up to three years in the brig and be dishonorably discharged, Marine Capt. Jay Delarosa, a spokesman, said in Monday’s editions of the Star-Telegram.

“I guess I’ll have to take whatever comes my way,’’ Johnson said, adding that he did not believe he should be punished. “I’m not a criminal. I’m not a crook. I’ve never had one violent offense.’’

But he said he felt relieved by his arrest after spending more than half his life as a fugitive.

“They were hot on my tail a few times, and they were hot on my tail this time,’’ said Johnson, who said he suffers from prostate cancer and knee and shoulder ailments. “I could have run this time, but I said, ‘No, my running days are over with.’’’