In an example of life imitating art, one of the stars of the HBO series "The Wire", a popular show that portrayed drug violence in Baltimore, has pleaded guilty for her role in an alleged conspiracy to distribute heroin. According to court documents, actress Felicia "Snoop" Pearson, who shared a nickname with her "The Wire" character, was arrested as part of a massive drug distribution ring investigation that ended with the arrest of 64 people last spring.

According to the federal indictment, Pearson was charged with the drug crime for her alleged participation in a conspiracy that organized the purchase of heroin from New York and marijuana from California, and re-sold the drugs in Baltimore. Specifically, Pearson is accused of receiving payment from drug ring organizers to store drugs and money at her apartment in Baltimore.

Pearson, 31, was arrested after investigators intercepted a telephone call on a wiretapped phone line. She was charged with conspiracy to distribute heroin. One day before her trial was scheduled to begin, she decided to plead guilty to the drug crime, despite her stated belief that she would have been found not guilty if it had proceeded to trial.

Under the terms of her guilty plea, Pearson received a suspended seven-year sentence with credit for time served, and three years of supervised probation. She will be able to travel out-of-state to work, which will allow her to pursue her acting career in Los Angeles.

"The Wire" was a popular HBO series which offered a startlingly realistic portrayal of Baltimore's struggle with poverty, drugs and gang violence in which Pearson played the role of a drug gang assassin.

Source: Yahoo! News, "'Wire' actress pleads guilty in drug case," Sarah Brumfield, August 8, 2011