Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
Dwayne Pulliam, a Local Drug Dealer, Murdered a Customer for Stealing Crack Cocaine
United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jay Clayton, announced that a jury found DWAYNE PULLIAM guilty today of Travel Act murder, participating in a conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute crack cocaine and heroin, and the distribution and possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine and heroin. PULLIAM was found guilty following a one-week trial before U.S. District Judge Philip M. Halpern.
“In Carmel, New York, Dwayne Pulliam, a local drug dealer and employee of a drug rehabilitation center who had previously been convicted of and served over two decades for murder, killed one of his customers—Lori Lynn Campbell—whom he suspected of stealing crack cocaine from his business, and then drove her body to North Carolina, where he buried her in a shallow grave in the woods,” said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton. “With its verdict, the jury has held Pulliam responsible for Campbell’s murder, as well as for the harm that he sowed in both New York and Connecticut with his shameless dealing of crack and heroin. This should serve as a lesson: if you commit a crime—if you commit a murder—law enforcement will pursue you relentlessly, and the career prosecutors of this Office and our law enforcement partners are committed to investigating and prosecuting these righteous cases. If any member of the public has information that they wish to share with us about any unsolved murder, then we encourage you to come forward.”
According to the Indictment, public court filings, and the evidence presented at trial:
PULLIAM had a lengthy criminal history, including convictions in North Carolina in 1981 for breaking and entering and larceny and assault on a female, in 1985 for assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, in 1988 for possession of a firearm by a felon and trafficking cocaine, in 1992 for assault on a female and hit-and-run, and in New York in 1999 for intentional murder, for which PULLIAM was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison and released to lifetime parole on December 1, 2020.
After his release from prison, PULLIAM, who used the nickname “Doc,” got a job at a drug rehabilitation facility in Carmel, New York. He also began distributing retail quantities of crack cocaine in New York and Connecticut, including for both money and sexual favors. Additionally, he would use his customers as workers, paying them in drugs.
On or about March 28, 2022, Lori Lynn Campbell—one of PULLIAM’s customers—was at PULLIAM’s apartment in Carmel, New York. PULLIAM suspected that Campbell was stealing crack from him and his business and “tested” her by leaving a small amount of crack cocaine in a room with her. When PULLIAM returned, the crack was gone, and he confronted Campbell. When Campbell tried to leave and to scream, PULLIAM strangled Campbell to death. As PULLIAM later told one of his customers/workers, he “stopped her from screaming.”
PULLIAM picked up one of his customers/workers—who, among other things, would drive PULLIAM in return for drugs—and had the driver move Campbell’s car. PULLIAM then brought his driver back to his apartment and showed the driver Campbell’s body, saying “there’s the culprit.” PULLIAM, cajoling the driver with the promise of more drugs and threatening the driver’s family, got the driver to help him move Campbell’s body. When PULLIAM put Campbell’s body in the trunk of his car, he used enough force to break one of her vertebrae. PULLIAM then made his driver accompany him to North Carolina, where PULLIAM wrapped Campbell’s body in a plastic sheet, covered it with sulfur powder, and buried it in a shallow grave. After PULLIAM and his driver returned to New York and Connecticut, PULLIAM continued selling drugs until he was arrested in this case.
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PULLIAM, 63, of Carmel, New York, was convicted of Travel Act murder, participating in a conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute heroin and 28 grams and more of crack cocaine, and distribution and possession with intent to distribute heroin and crack cocaine. The Travel Act murder count carries a maximum sentence of life in prison, the narcotics conspiracy count carries a maximum sentence of life in prison and a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison, and the narcotics count carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
The maximum and minimum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by a judge.
Mr. Clayton praised the outstanding work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office, which also supported the prosecution through trial. He also thanked the Danbury, Connecticut, Police Department, the Connecticut State Police, the Alamance County, North Carolina Sheriff’s Office, and the Caswell County, North Carolina Police Department.
This case is being handled by the Office’s White Plains Division. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael D. Maimin and T. Josiah Pertz are in charge of the prosecution, with the assistance of Paralegal Specialists Allison Tull and Casey Wilcox.