Black actress arrested in drug raid

Felicia "Snoop" Pearson of "The Wire" was arrested at her downtown Baltimore apartment, in connection with a large-scale heroin and marijuana ring. A five-month investigation led to raids in west and east Baltimore yielding more than 60 suspects believed to be linked to the crime operation. Pearson was arrested on a state warrant, though local and federal authorities were also involved in the raids. The 30-year-old, who played a ruthless drug assassin on the HBO show and had hoped to continue acting, had been plucked off the Maryland streets to become the character. "The Wire," which ran 2002-2008, was about the Baltimore drug scene. At age 16, she pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and had been recently arrested again for refusing to testify as a witness during a murder trial.