In a case of life imitating art (that had previously imitated life), Felicia Pearson — best known for playing Snoop on HBO’s The Wire — pled guilty to a heroin charge, after getting caught in a joint federal-state operation that used (you guessed it) a wiretap to gather evidence.
Though Snoop (it’s her real-life nickname, too) is definitely getting the most attention of any of the 63 people charged in the wide-reaching East Baltimore drug/violence/conspiracy case after a March 10 raid, police say she played a relatively minor role. That — plus her guilty plea the day before her trial was scheduled to start — is one reason why her seven-year sentence was suspended with credit for time served. The judge also ordered three years of supervised probation.
Pearson hasn’t had an easy life — far from it, actually. According to the New York Times, “Ms. Pearson was previously convicted of second-degree murder in a slaying committed when she was 14. She served five years of an eight-year sentence and was released in 2000. She was arrested on a drug charge in 2008 when police went to her home to pick her up for refusing to cooperate as a witness in a murder trial. She was found not guilty.”
According to Pearson’s Twitter feed (BmoreSnoop), she had a meeting with BET earlier in the week; then, four days later, tweeted “I’m FREE” after her sentencing. Seems like things are looking up. We wish her the best!
Drawing by Blake Hicks
