‘Never seen anything like this’: County official speaks on recordbreaking Louisa drug bust
Dec 03, 2024
LOUISA COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — A Louisa County woman is facing more than 100 years in prison for what officials consider to be one of the largest and most extensive drug busts the county has ever seen.
On Monday, Dec. 2, 51-year-old Dawn Morris pleaded guilty to several charges, including possession with intent to distribute Schedule I or II narcotics. She was also charged with perjury for “claiming to be poor” in court in order to obtain a court-appointed lawyer.
Morris guilty plea comes more than a year after authorities green-lit a seizure for a record-breaking amount of illegal drugs, money and other smoking and vaping products.
“I've never seen anything like this, in a sense," said Louisa Commonwealth's Attorney Rusty McGuire on Tuesday after Morris’s guilty plea. "I've never seen just a brazen, flagrant violation of the law. [She] just didn't care. You cannot profit from dealing drugs. And that's the message I hope this sends to the public."
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The investigation began in Aug. 2022 after complaints of drug trafficking in the area. Morris was under surveillance until the sheriff's office executed a search warrant in Sept. 2023.
During that investigation, officials learned that Morris owned a unit at an old storage facility off Courthouse Road. There, authorities said she was holding weekly “farmers market-style” drug pop-up events -- something McGuire said has never been seen before in Louisa.
“She would just have people come and set up tables and start selling stuff -- but it wasn't it wasn't just food and spaghetti, right?" McGuire said. "It was Schedule I controlled substances. And open to the public."
Investigators with the Lousia Commonwealth Attorney's Office authorized undercover buys from the market. Those products obtained during these undercover assignments were sent to the lab and tested, which McGuire said took a great deal of time.
He added that the idea that this could happen in Louisa "boggles [his] mind."
“I mean, we're known as a law and order community," McGuire said. "And [we] are relentless because, in the end, it's our children that we're trying to protect."
Evidence associated with the drug conviction of Dawn Marie Morris in Louisa County. (Photos: Louisa County Commonwealth's Attorney)Evidence associated with the drug conviction of Dawn Marie Morris in Louisa County. (Photos: Louisa County Commonwealth's Attorney)Evidence associated with the drug conviction of Dawn Marie Morris in Louisa County. (Photos: Louisa County Commonwealth's Attorney)
Several pounds of marijuana were found at Morris' market table. During a search of Morris's home, detectives found more marijuana, psilocyn -- commonly known as “magic mushrooms" -- drug packing materials and almost $100,000 in cash.
“They found the vacuum sealers, bags, scales, weights -- everything that you would expect for a drug dealer to have," McGuire said. "This was a sophisticated operation."
McGuire said that one of his chief concerns with this illegal activity was the innocent lives that could have been impacted.
“Children could go in there,” McGuire said. “They can just roll on in and just buy [from] a table -- like they're buying a baseball card -- a Schedule I controlled substance. And I [don't] think anybody in the United States would be okay with that.”
In total, the drugs and money seized are valued at $432,000 -- making this seizure one of the largest busts in the county's history.
Morris, who is not in custody, is scheduled for sentencing in February. She faces a maximum of 160 years in prison.