Nathan “Bodie” Barksdale, the self-proclaimed inspiration for Avon Barksdale, a main character from HBO’s critically acclaimed series, The Wire, was arrested on November 29 for his alleged role in a heroin conspiracy with another man, Suraj Tairu.
Reports The Baltimore Sun:
The pair would meet to conduct deals at Rite Aid parking lots just north of downtown Baltimore, according to court documents.
Tairu’s lawyer said his client has pleaded not guilty, and he is reviewing the evidence ahead of a trial scheduled for next year. Barksdale’s attorney declined to comment on the case.
But his mother, Emma Grier, said she did not know anything about the charges and believed Barksdale’s life was back on track.
“He was working and everything,” she added. “He’s turned his life around.”
But the DEA’s Special Investigations Group, a team of federal agents and Baltimore police, has long been working to bring down top figures in the BGF, said DEA spokesman Edward Marcinko. The agency first named Barksdale as a BGF member in court documents in 2010.
Barkdsale, 52 has held a long-standing beef with the famed show’s creator, David Simon over his likeness being touted in throughout the series. Simon has maintained that it the name similarities were always just a coincidence.
Avon Barksdale was portrayed by actor Wood Harris in the five-season series. The real-life Barksdale’s street name of Bodie was also allegedly turned into a character played by actor J.D. Williams.
All this is just a fine example of when art imitating life goes terribly wrong.
But as they say, “the game is the game.
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