“Wire” Actress Arrested in Drug Raid

In a sad case of life imitating art, a former convict turned notable actress was arrested in a massive drug raid this week.

Felicia "Snoop" Pearson, who played a hit man for a drug dealer on HBO's critically acclaimed crime saga "The Wire," was one of sixty people swept up by police in Baltimore on heroin-related and aiding and abetting charges, reports the Los Angeles Times.

Pearson, who is not a trained thespian, won acclaim for her work as an emotionless enforcer on the streets of Charm City.

"She's a real coldhearted person," she said in a 2007 interview. "I love playing her."

Earlier in her life, she had repeated run ins with the law for dealing drugs and was eventually landed in prison for killing another woman in self-defense.

The show's creator, former Baltimore Sun reporter and media critic David Simon, released a statement about his former star's predicament.

"First of all, Felicia's entitled to the presumption of innocence," he wrote in a posting on Slate. "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. Nevertheless, 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 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."