The black man whose life was the focus of The Corner, a book about a year on a drug-plagued Baltimore street corner, has died of a suspected drug overdose

De'Andre McCullough, 35, was found dead by his girlfriend at a home in the Baltimore suburb of Woodlawn, according to police. The 1997 book was written by former police officer Edward Burns and reporter David Simon, who went on to create the HBO series The Wire. The Corner was also made into an HBO mini-series. At the time of his death, he was on warrants charging him with two armed robberies at Baltimore pharmacies. He went from selling drugs to abusing them, starting with marijuana. His home life didn't help stave off drug taking as both his parents struggled with severe addiction. McCullough's father died of a drug overdose as The Corner was being written.