“The Wire's” Felicia “Snoop” Pearson to Fight Drug Rap: Rep

Cops homed in on actress Felicia “Snoop” Pearson in a drug raid last week because of her chilling portrayal as a drug dealer's hitman on HBO’s “The Wire” and for her tough Baltimore upbringing, according to her rep.

“Felicia Pearson has the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty,” her rep said in a statement, EW.com reported.

Pearson, 30, was ordered held without bail Friday, having been arrested as part of a drug sting that netted 63 people, the Baltimore Sun reported.

She is accused of helping fund a heroin operation and was allegedly caught on a wiretap talking about money, according to the Sun. In denying Pearson bail, the judge reportedly said she would be a flight risk.

"Felicia grew up where high crime rates, drug use and violence are the norm,” her rep said in the statement to news outlets. “Felicia has overcome numerous hardships in her lifetime. She does not expect these hardships to be used as an excuse for illegal activities."

The rep went on to say that Pearson has made “strong statements” against drugs and violence and hoped to return to Philadelphia, where she was working on three films, People reported.

"She 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," the rep said.

Pearson’s past brushes with the law include having served five years for a second degree-murder she committed at age 14, the AP reported. She was found not guilty of a 2008 drug charge.

In a 2007 biography, "Grace After Midnight," Pearson wrote that she was born premature and addicted to crack, according to the Sun.

She turned to dealing drugs at age 12 after her elderly foster dad died at age 81, the paper reported.

“Wire” creator David Simon wrote on Slate last week that he was “sad” to learn of Pearson’s arrest.

“This young lady has, from her earliest moments, had one of the hardest lives imaginable,” he wrote. “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.”

Selected Reading: Baltimore Sun, Slate, People, EW

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