Baltimore news stations showed video of DEA agents leading the 30-year old star from an apartment building downtown to a waiting police van. She was one of 37 people arrested by about 450 federal, state and local officers early Thursday.
22 individuals face state charges and 15 are charged in a federal indictment that was unsealed Thursday with charges of conspiracy to distribute drugs and possession with intent to distribute. Another individual was arrested earlier this month after being charged in a federal criminal complaint.
In a statement issued by Pearson’s publicist the actress maintains her innocence:
“Felicia Pearson has the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty. In Felicia’s case, she feels that she is being targeted not only because of her portrayal of the memorable character ‘Snoop’ on HBO’s critically acclaimed series The Wire; but also because of where she is from in Baltimore. Felicia grew up where high crime rates, drug use and violence are the norm. Felicia has overcome numerous hard ships in her lifetime. She does not expect these hardships to be used as an excuse for illegal activities. She has never stopped working on self improvement. Felicia has made strong statements against drugs and violence of any kind. She is focused on living a positive life-style encouraging youth and formerly incarcerated women to make positive choices for themselves. She is currently working on 3 films that are shooting in Philadelphia with Len Daniels and T-Town Music Group.
Felicia hopes to return to the Philadelphia film set immediately, and wants her friends and fans to know that she is keeping her head up, shoulders back and that she is prepared to fight these new charges against her.â€
The Washington Post’s Reliable Sources is reporting that David Simon, creator and executive producer of “The Wire,” released the following statement through HBO in response to Pearson’s arrest:
“First of all, Felicia’s entitled to the presumption of innocence. And I would note that a previous, but recent drug arrest that targeted her was later found to be unwarranted and the charges were dropped. Nonetheless, I’m certainly sad at the news today. This young lady has, from her earliest moments, had one of the hardest lives imaginable. And whatever good fortune came from her role in The Wire seems, in retrospect, limited to that project. She worked hard as an actor and was entirely professional, but the entertainment industry as a whole does not offer a great many roles for those who can portray people from the other America. There are, in fact, relatively few stories told about the other America.”
“Beyond that, I am waiting to see whether the charges against Felecia relate to heroin or marijuana. Obviously, the former would be, to my mind, a far more serious matter. And further, I am waiting to see if the charges or statement of facts offered by the government reflect any involvement with acts of violence, which would of course be of much greater concern.
“In an essay published in Time two years ago, the writers of ‘The Wire’ made the argument that we believe the war on drugs has devolved into a war on the underclass, that in places like West and East Baltimore, where the drug economy is now the only factory still hiring and where the educational system is so crippled that the vast majority of children are trained only for the corners, a legal campaign to imprison our most vulnerable and damaged citizens is little more than amoral. And we said then that if asked to serve on any jury considering a non-violent drug offense, we would move to nullify that jury’s verdict and vote to acquit. Regardless of the defendant, I still believe such a course of action would be just in any case in which drug offenses — absent proof of violent acts — are alleged.
“Both our Constitution and our common law guarantee that we will be judged by our peers. But in truth, there are now two Americas, politically and economically distinct. I, for one, do not qualify as a peer to Felicia Pearson. The opportunities and experiences of her life do not correspond in any way with my own, and her America is different from my own. I am therefore ill-equipped to be her judge in this matter.”
Simon is the brilliant creator of not only The Wire, but also The Corner and Treme.
