Long 2

Lieutenant Zachary Long started his career with the Florida Department of Corrections in 2009 as a Correctional Officer.  He joined the DeSoto County Sheriff’s Office as a Corrections Deputy in 2010.  In 2012 Lt. Long was transferred to the Uniformed Patrol Division as a Deputy and in 2013 he was transferred to the Investigative Division where he served as a Property Crime’s Detective and later as a Person’s Crime Detective.  In 2016 Lt. Long accepted a job as a Police Officer with the Medina Police Department in Washington State. In 2017 he returned to the DeSoto County Sheriff’s Office and was assigned to the Uniformed Patrol Division. Later in 2017 he was transferred to the Investigative Division where he served as a Person’s Crime Detective. In 2018 he was promoted to Corporal, then to Sergeant and was assigned to the Uniformed Patrol Division.  In 2019 Lt. Long was transferred to the Crime Scene / Evidence Division as a Supervisor. In January 2021, he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant in the Road Bureau.

Lt. Long has over 11 years of Law Enforcement experience, with different agencies and in different Bureaus. He has a well-rounded career based in both Corrections and Law Enforcement.  Lt. Long has advanced training in the area of Sex Crime’s Investigations as well as in Leadership Training.  Lt. Long is a graduate of Florida Leadership Academy Class #45 as well as the FBI – LEEDA 551st Supervisor Leader Institute.  Lt. Long is a member of the Central Florida Internet Crimes against Children (I.C.A.C) Task Force, Child Abduction Response Team (C.A.R.T), Special Weapons and Tactics Team (S.W.A.T) and is a Computerized Voice Stress Analysis (C.V.S.A) Examiner.

As of May, 2020 Lt. Long has approximately 942 credited training hours. Lt. Long is a native DeSoto County resident from birth and graduated from DeSoto County High School in 2007. 

Contact Information:
Lieutenant  Zachary Long             
zlong@desotosheriff.org
DeSoto County Sheriff's Office
208 East Cypress Street
Arcadia, Florida 34266
863-993-4700 ext: 2254
Lewis 3Lieutenant Merle “Buddy” Lewis has served with the DeSoto County Sheriff’s Office 16 years, starting his career in August of 2005. He was promoted to the rank of Sergeant of Road Patrol in November of 2016. In September 2021, he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant.

Lt. Lewis has worked in different specialized positions during his Law Enforcement career. This includes Road Patrol as Deputy, Corporal and Sergeant, SWAT team and Sniper, Agricultural Detective, Narcotics Detective and Narcotics Sergeant. This has given him a broad variety of training and experience. Some of his training includes First-line Supervisor, Middle Management, Florida Sheriff’s Association First-line Supervisor, DEA Clandestine Methamphetamines Lab and FBI-LEEDA Supervisor Leadership Institute.

Lt. Lewis is a Florida native and attended school in DeSoto County. He has lived and raised his family in this community for over 30 years. He started his Law Enforcement training in 1995, when he enrolled in the Basic Law Enforcement Academy at South Florida Community College in Avon Park, Florida. He served 8 years with the Arcadia Police Department as a Patrol Officer and as Investigator. He has served this community as a Law Enforcement Officer for 25 years.

Contact Information:
Lieutenant Merle Lewis             
mlewis@desotosheriff.org
DeSoto County Sheriff's Office
208 East Cypress Street
Arcadia, Florida 34266
863-993-4700