Restaurant owner jailed on $1M bond after charged with trafficking fentanyl, heroin

A local businessman was being held at Albemarle District Jail on Monday in lieu of a $1 million secured bond after he was arrested and charged with trafficking both heroin and fentanyl.

Al Esteban Ortiz, 47, of the 300 block of S. Hughes Blvd., Elizabeth City, was arrested by the Pasquotank Sheriff’s Office on Sunday, according to a copy of an arrest warrant.

Ortiz is charged with three counts of felony trafficking opium or heroin and single felony counts of possession with intent to manufacture/sell/deliver schedule II of a controlled substance and maintaining a vehicle for the possession of a controlled substance.

According to the warrant, Ortiz is accused of possessing with the intent to sell or deliver 189.57 grams of fentanyl. He’s also accused of manufacturing, possessing and transporting 28 grams or more of an opioid.

Ortiz is also charged with three misdemeanor charges apparently connected to law enforcement’s efforts to stop his vehicle on U.S. Highway 17 North: failing to heed a light or siren, littering and speeding.

According to the warrant, Ortiz is accused of “throwing a package wrapped in clear plastic tape and paper material” on property he didn’t own. He also was traveling 72 mph in a 60 mph zone.

Ortiz was brought to Albemarle District Jail about 2:30 a.m. Monday, according to jail records. His scheduled court date is May 20.

Ortiz owns the Just Wings chicken wing restaurant at 1843 W. Ehringhaus Street at Port Elizabeth Centre which he opened with his wife, Ivory Ortiz, in June 2019.

In February 2020, Ortiz was in the public eye after he was accused of making racist comments about Black people on Facebook. The derogatory comments about Blacks — some laced with profanity — were shared widely on social media at the time.

Ortiz denied making the statements, claiming they were posted on his Facebook page after it was hacked.

“It has been a crazy trip,” Ortiz told The Daily Advance about the controversy at the time, going on to say that he believes it started after he posted some photos of himself with some white customers and included comments about how he liked his white customers.

“Sometimes I said I like my white customers,” Ortiz said. “I don’t know why people would take offense at saying you like white people. I didn’t think it was a crime to say I like white people.”

The restaurant owner claimed that some people were resentful of his success.

“People are upset with me,” Ortiz said. “They don’t feel my struggle. They feel my success.”