Drug Trafficker Sentenced to More Than Eight Years in Prison

RALEIGH, N.C. – An Elizabeth City  man was sentenced on Tuesday to 8.5 years in prison for possessing with intent to distribute 189 grams of fentanyl.  Al Esteban Ortiz, age 49, pled guilty to the charges on January 17, 2025.

According to court documents and other information presented in court, law enforcement received information that Ortiz, aka “Floyd Lee Riddick, Jr.”, had driven to New York to purchase narcotics. On May 4, 2024, Pasquotank County Sheriff’s Office investigators stopped Ortiz’s car once he entered Pasquotank County. After initiating the stop, law enforcement saw the driver throw a white bag out of the passenger side window onto the shoulder of the road. Investigators arrested Ortiz, the driver and sole occupant of the car, and recovered the bag from the shoulder of the road. The bag contained 189 grams of fentanyl. Law enforcement then obtained a search warrant for Ortiz’s house, where they recovered 25 grams of cocaine. Ortiz confessed to travelling to New York and purchasing what he believed to be heroin for $11,000, to bring back to Elizabeth City, North Carolina for distribution.

Daniel P. Bubar, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge James C. Dever III. The Pasquotank County Sherriff’s Office investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ashley Avera and Phil Aubart  prosecuted the case.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:24-cr-00021.

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