Baltimore star of ‘The Wire’ settles drug charges with guilty plea

Sometimes, criminal cases do not turn out the way that you might think they would. For example, a few months back, we added posts about the drug charges against “The Wire” star Felicia “Snoop” Pearson. Based on past news reports, we indicated that Pearson was planning to plead not guilty and fight the heroin-related charges she was facing.

The status of the celebrity drug case changed significantly this week. The Baltimore Sun reports that Pearson abandoned her not guilty plea in order to put an end to the legal business. She reportedly pleaded guilty to conspiracy to deal heroin.

Sources report Pearson’s suggestion that the change of heart regarding the guilty plea wasn’t the result of the defense having a weak case. She suggests it isn’t her admission of guilt. She wanted to put the case behind her and move on with her life and believes that if the conspiracy case had gone to court, she would have been exonerated of the drug charges.

What does the last-minute guilty plea get the troubled-child-turned-revered-actress? The judge sentenced her to seven years of prison time but will allow her instead to serve time under house arrest, being monitored by officials. She is on probation for the next three years and will likely be sent to prison should she violate any terms of that probation.

Every criminal case is different. There are different sets of circumstances and different defendants who have different priorities. While at first pleading not guilty appeared to be Pearson’s passionate response to the drug charges, she had every right to rethink that decision.

As we have shared in previous posts, Pearson has had a tough history involving various run-ins with the law. She used her experiences to grow and learn, and her attorney states he is confident that Pearson has learned from this trying time, as well. Maybe that is enough for her.

Source

The Baltimore Sun: “‘Wire actress ‘Snoop’ pleads guilty in drug case,” Tricia Bishop, Aug. 8, 2011