Federal Court Sentences Drug Ring Leader to 27 Years in Prison

A federal judge sentenced 41-year-old Alexander Trowbridge to nearly 27 years in prison on August 24, 2026, for leading a violent drug trafficking organization that flooded eastern North Carolina with heroin and fentanyl.

Trowbridge, also known as "Snow," pleaded guilty to four federal drug and firearms charges, including conspiracy to distribute more than 400 grams of fentanyl and over 2.2 pounds of heroin. He was one of six defendants sentenced in connection with the ring, receiving a collective total of 66 years in federal custody.

Federal prosecutors stated that the family-run organization, known as "Team Young Money," operated for years as a drive-through drug outlet in Vance County. The group sourced kilogram quantities of heroin and fentanyl from New Jersey and distributed them across multiple counties, including Vance, Durham, Warren, Wake, Wilson, Franklin, and Granville.

Investigators noted that the group packaged fentanyl in baggies stamped with a "Toy Story" emblem to identify its product. Authorities tracked the operation using controlled purchases, electronic surveillance, and drone footage, revealing that drugs were hidden inside homes, in buckets, in tire stacks, and in nearby wooded areas.

A coordinated multi-agency investigation involving the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, the Henderson Police Department, and the Vance County Sheriff's Office began building the case in August 2019.

During coordinated raids on three Henderson properties on Kelly Road and Pinecone Lane in November 2022, law enforcement officers seized 14 firearms, high-capacity magazines, over 2,000 rounds of ammunition, and roughly $100,000 in cash.

Following the sentencing, federal prosecutors reaffirmed their intent to target remaining illicit drug networks operating across the region.

"Drug trafficking organizations can no longer hide in Eastern North Carolina," said U.S. Attorney Ellis Boyle. "We shut down this network, and we are coming for the rest."

Chief U.S. District Judge Richard E. Myers II presided over the sentencing proceeding in federal court.

"If you sell drugs, we will find you. We will prosecute you, and we will put you in federal big boy prison for a long time," said Boyle.

Local law enforcement officials expressed gratitude for the federal partnership that successfully dismantled the long-standing street gang.

"This criminal organization has been a thorn at the very least for us for a long time, and we are grateful for the partnership and all the resources that we were able to pull together," said Vance County District Attorney Mike Waters.

State law enforcement leaders highlighted the aggressive cross-agency coordination that made the multi-year investigation successful.

"He’s willing to cross lanes, cross the highway, back up, go forward, whatever it takes to keep North Carolina safe," said N.C. State Bureau of Investigation Director Chip Hawley.

State health data shows Vance County's overdose death rate more than tripled from nearly 16 deaths per 100,000 residents in 2016 to 50 per 100,000 in 2022, while the statewide rate rose from 19 to 41 per 100,000 during the same period.