An Elizabeth City man has been sentenced to eight and a half years in prison for drug-related charges. Al Esteban Ortiz, 49, admitted guilt on January 17, 2025, for possessing with intent to distribute 189 grams of fentanyl.
Court documents reveal that law enforcement was informed about Ortiz’s trip to New York to purchase narcotics. On May 4, 2024, investigators from the Pasquotank County Sheriff’s Office stopped Ortiz’s vehicle as he entered Pasquotank County. During the stop, officers observed him discard a white bag out of the passenger window onto the roadside. The bag was retrieved and found to contain 189 grams of fentanyl. A subsequent search warrant executed at Ortiz’s residence led to the discovery of an additional 25 grams of cocaine.
Ortiz confessed to traveling to New York and buying what he thought was heroin for $11,000 with plans to distribute it in Elizabeth City, North Carolina.
The announcement came from Daniel P. Bubar, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina after sentencing by U.S. District Judge James C. Dever III. The case was investigated by the Pasquotank County Sheriff’s Office and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ashley Avera and Phil Aubart.
Further details are available through related court documents on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or via PACER under Case No. 2:24-cr-00021.
