Snoop freed from city jail
Felicia "Snoop" Pearson, the drug dealer turned actress who was indicted last month in a wide-ranging drug conspiracy, will be released from the city jail after a hastily-called hearing this afternoon in Baltimore Circuit Court.
Pearson, who gained fame for her role on HBO's "The Wire," was among more than 60 people charged in a drug conspiracy case and had been ordered held without bond by Judge John Addison Howard at a hearing at which she did not have a lawyer present. Her initial attorney, Paul Gardner, launched a "Free Snoop" campaign on YouTube, then was replaced with attorney Benjamin Sutley, who said last week that the prospects of her release appeared dim.
Sutley said he negotiated with prosecutors into the night Thursday, and Pearson will be on electronic ankle bracelet monitoring through a Towson-based company. The terms of her release allow her to travel to Philadelphia to film a movie.
"We had a lot of discussions, but mostly it was just about legitimizing that, if she gets out, she'll be working and she's not a flight risk," Sutley said. "We were able to get her before Judge Howard, and he agreed."
Pearson is charged with helping bankroll a heroin operation in the city, and the case involves wiretaps, according to prosecutors. Her arraignment is set for May 5.
[Associated Press photo]
Comments
Shouldn't "the drug dealer turned actress" be changed to "the drug dealer who also acts"? - YERP
Posted by: Dan | April 8, 2011 3:19 PM
I'd like to see all this evidence that the city police and the DEA have supposedly amassed on these 60 people. There is a big difference between selling drugs and being at the wrong place at the wrong time. This giant group of arrests might end up being another boondoogle by local law enforcement. May they all have good lawyers.
Posted by: Cham | April 8, 2011 3:32 PM
Philadelphia sounds like a very good drug market. Making a movie and selling drugs in Philly. What a great deal. Thanks Baltimore legal system. Oh! that's right, there is no more legal system in this country. Of course, unless your not wearing your seat belt and you got to be white. Now that's a crime. No movie for you.
Posted by: Rich M. | April 8, 2011 3:45 PM
I am gonna say atleast 20 could be at the wrong place at the wrong time. I had a friend who was helping someone prepare her taxes and the house was raided. He ended up spending the night in jail. The city police do not care to sort anything out. They leave that up to the courts. Sometimes a little common sense goes a long way.
Posted by: Mr Bill | April 8, 2011 3:48 PM
Hmmm. Devil's advocate. When would someone involved in drug dealing/using be filling out a tax return. Sounds a bit counterproductive. LOL.
Posted by: Kitkat | April 8, 2011 4:05 PM
The IRS is quite different than the judicial system. Regardless of where you get your income you still have to fill out a tax return. The last line on your tax return is "income from other sources", that is where you list your income from illegal activities. Don't believe me? Ask Al Capone.
Posted by: Cham | April 8, 2011 4:37 PM
Must be nice to be a celebrity. You get to live out of jail with a nice monitoring device--away from the isolation and fellow criminals.
Posted by: Dave | April 8, 2011 4:54 PM
People are quick to judge without hearing all the facts. She is innocent until proven guilty in court.
Posted by: Uche | April 8, 2011 5:44 PM
Regardless of whether her celebrity got her out of jail or not, if an individual is not a threat to society or a flight risk, they should always have the opportunity to remain free while fighting their case. Innocent until proven guilty is more than words. I'm glad she was released from jail.
Posted by: Johnny Exchange | April 9, 2011 9:40 AM
The pathology in our nation is spiraling from a depressed economy and partisan politics that's based solely on idealism's and money ... and not on what main stream Americans need. which is why people are turning to crime as a means to survive.
Posted by: Andre Thurman | April 9, 2011 10:52 AM
@cham,or maybe you and ya white friends can open a liquor store,with what ya daddy gave you,never do anything for the community that your helping destroy,or maybe a gunstore,think before you speak lame ass,yeah @ cham!i see alot of white,blavk,and latino dealers where I live,what world you from
Posted by: wwdjr. | April 12, 2011 12:37 AM
I fail to understand why people have such support for this woman. While she may have had a little bit of success acting (which people may take as a sign that "she's turned her life around"), she is still a career criminal who has spent years dealing drugs, and has also shot people on more than one occasion (in one case, the person she shot died). She spent five years in prison for that killing and once released, she attempted to earn money the right way through paying jobs. When that didn't work out, she admits going right back into what she knows best: selling drugs on a Baltimore street corner. It seems times have been tough for her recently, having had her house foreclosed on and all, so clearly she's in financial trouble. Isn't it logical that she would again go back to doing what she knows how to do (selling drugs) in order to make money?
Posted by: Mike | May 19, 2011 5:39 PM