Defendant pleads guilty to drug charges

Surveillance played key role in arrest of River Falls man

Dwayne Corey Longmire

Dwayne Corey “Duke” Longmire, 50, of River Falls, recently pled guilty to possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute and possession of a controlled substance. Circuit Judge Lex Short presided over the cases and took Longmire’s pleas ahead of his cases being set for trial last week. Longmire was sentenced to 20 years.

Longmire was represented by Gulf Shores attorney Riley Powell. The state was represented by Asst. District Attorney Nikki Stephens.

Longmire was arrested on the simple possession charge for an event in August 2022 when Covington County Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Investigator Cody Holmes obtained a search warrant to search and seize illegal narcotics on two of Longmire’s properties — his home on Crittenden Road and his Wash-n-Go car wash business in River Falls — and on Longmire’s vehicle located at his mother’s home, also on Crittenden Road. On that occasion, officers recovered multiple firearms, cocaine, marijuana, and other items indicating Longmire’s distribution of illegal narcotics.

Longmire’s arrest on the possession with intent charge came after Holmes worked extensive surveillance on Longmire and tracked him traveling several times to the Mobile area to purchase cocaine. In May 2023, Longmire went to Mobile and brought a significant amount of cocaine back into Covington County. Officers stopped Longmire on a traffic stop as he returned to Covington County. The vehicle, Longmire’s mother’s, was searched and Holmes found the cocaine Longmire had just purchased in Mobile. According to the district attorney’s office, Longmire said he intended to process the cocaine into crack cocaine to be sold.

Because Longmire was out on bond at the time he committed the second offense, the State filed to revoke his bond and that motion was granted. He has remained in the Covington County Jail since September 2023.

“I am thankful for the long, hard work Cody Holmes put into this investigation. It was not something he worked one day and immediately made an arrest. It required patience and attention to detail to be able to catch Longmire in the act. These investigations that occur over an extended period of time are not easy, and Cody did a great job putting it all together,” Stephens said.

District Attorney Walt Merrell commended Stephens, Holmes, and the other officers involved.

“Had Longmire had the time to process that cocaine into crack, an even more addictive substance, and then sell it, many others in our community would’ve been affected. It isn’t just the addict using it whose life these drugs destroy, it’s also the addict’s children, spouse, or parents. Longmire wasn’t concerned with any of those people; he was concerned with profit. I’m glad his profits were interrupted on this occasion and even more glad these drugs didn’t fall into someone else’s hands.”