Carmel Drug Dealer Found Guilty Of 2022 Murder

By Holly Crocco

A Carmel man was recently found guilty of the 2022 murder of a Putnam woman he allegedly thought was stealing drugs from him.

According to U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Jay Clayton, following a one-week trial before U.S. District Judge Philip Halpern, a jury found Dwayne Pulliam, 63, guilty of Travel Act murder, participating in a conspiracy with intent to distribute and possess heroin and 28 grams of crack cocaine, and possession and distribution of heroin and crack cocaine.

He faces life in prison.

According to the indictment, Pulliam had a lengthy criminal history including convictions in North Carolina in 1981 for breaking and entering, 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 Dec. 1, 2020.

After his release from prison, Pulliam – who used the nickname “Doc” – got a job at a drug rehabilitation facility in Carmel. He began distributing retail quantities of crack cocaine in New York and Connecticut, including for both money and sexual favors, according to the indictment.

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 his apartment in Carmel when he suspected that she was stealing drugs 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 drugs were gone, and he confronted Campbell.

When Campbell tried to leave, Pulliam allegedly strangled her to death. As he later told one of his customers/workers, he “stopped her from screaming,” reads the indictment.

Pulliam had one of his customers/workers help him move Campbell’s body to the trunk of his car, during which they used so much force that it broke one of her vertebrae. Pulliam then drove to North Carolina, where he wrapped Campbell’s body in a plastic sheet, covered it with sulfur powder, and buried it in a shallow grave, according to court documents.

After he returned to New York and Connecticut, Pulliam continued selling drugs until he was arrested in this case.

Clayton praised the work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office, which supported the prosecution through trial. 

The maximum and minimum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress, and any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by a judge.