{alltv} Wire Actress Being Held Without Bail for Role in Alleged Heroin Ring

Friday, March 11, 2011

{alltv} Wire Actress Being Held Without Bail for Role in Alleged Heroin Ring

Guess it's all in the game?

Felicia Pearson, who played the charming and chilling gang soldier Snoop on the critically acclaimed HBO series The Wire, is being held without bail in Baltimore after being charged with conspiracy to distribute heroin and other drugs.

She was one of 38 people arrested Thursday in connection with the case, which federal and local authorities had dubbed "Operation Usual Suspects."

Sixty-four people, including Pearson, have been charged in either federal or state court for their alleged roles in the drug ring, which, according to authorities, has been conducting "drug transactions in residential neighborhoods and other areas of Baltimore" since June 2008.

Pearson is one of 21 people from yesterday's bust facing state charges. Prosecutors said in court today that the actress and aspiring music artist was caught talking about money on a wiretap and "provided a substantial amount of money to the organization."

"I find that not credible," her attorney, Paul Gardner, told the Baltimore Sun. "I can tell you, that's not her composite makeup. That's not what she's about. Any money she would have goes right back into paying her bills and finding her next lead. That's what she's focused on."

"Drugs are bad," he added. "We have to get them off the street. But we have to be careful to get the right folks off the street."

Federal agents said in a statement that some of the suspects have ties to New York and California and "would engage in acts of violence against members of the conspiracy who failed to perform required tasks."

We'd say this sounded ripped from the headlines, but it's more along the lines of a script ripped from The Wire.