Who is avon barksdale based on

In , Barksdale was acquitted in the murder of drug trafficker Frank Harper. Three years later, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison for torturing three people in an apartment in Murphy Homes. But there is nothing that corresponds to a specific character. In the s, following his release from prison, Barksdale appeared to have left his life of crime behind him.

He started working with Safe Streets, an anti-violence program, as a gang interventionist. That year, however, he was arrested on a heroin distribution charge following a Drug Enforcement Administration wiretap investigation.

Federal prosecutors also alleged at the time that Barksdale was a high-ranking member of the Black Guerrilla Family. In court, Barksdale, who pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 42 months behind bars, told U.

But there is nothing that corresponds to a specific character. Melvin Williams, another former Baltimore drug kingpin also credited with inspiring Avon Barksdale, died last December. Newswire Powered by. Close the menu. Rolling Stone. Log In. To help keep your account secure, please log-in again. D'Angelo was shaken by the murder and began to have second thoughts about his life, but Avon persuaded him to remain loyal to the family.

Avon was angered when The Pit's stash was robbed by legendary Baltimore stick-up man Omar Little , and he placed a heavy bounty on Omar and his crew. In response, Omar provides information of the murder of witness William Gant that leads to the arrest of a Barksdale enforcer, Bird, who is Gant's killer. Later after providing the information, Omar killed Stinkum and wounded Wee-Bey with a gunshot to the leg, culminating with a failed assassination attempt on Avon outside of Orlando's.

Wee-Bey managed to save Avon at the last minute and wounded Omar in the shoulder, forcing him to retreat. The Pit was also subject to police raids which seized a second resupply of narcotics and arrested a one-eyed blind carrier named Kevin Johnston and a dealer named Marvin Browning. They also briefly seized a payment on its way to State Senator Davis but were forced to return it because of his political influence.

The robbery and police activity combined raised suspicion that there was a leak in the pit, and an increasingly paranoid Avon ordered D'Angelo to remove the pay phones which had indeed been wiretapped. Barksdale's front man Orlando , who ran a club bearing his name as a front for the Barksdale's, had been trying to become involved in the drug trade, and Avon angrily beats him, warning him that the only reason he was front man was because of his clean record for the liquor license on the club.

Orlando persisted in trying to go into the business for himself, and was arrested by the state police. Avon promptly has his name removed from the club's license. The job was complicated when they found a woman accompanying Orlando and Little Man panicked and shot her. Avon quickly learned that the woman was a narcotics officer, Detective Greggs. The shooting of a detective led to a massive crackdown from the police.

Savino was forced to turn himself in, but faced a sentence of just three years because he was not directly implicated in the shooting. Avon and Stringer held a crisis meeting with attorney Maurice Levy , who advised them to remove any possible loose ends. Avon finally incriminated himself on a hidden camera in his office and was arrested.

He was sentenced to seven years incarceration. In prison, he is imprisoned with his Barksdale associates including D'Angelo, who is facing a twenty-year sentence for drug trafficking and refusal to cooperate, and Wee-Bey, who is serving life imprisonment for multiple counts of homicide. Avon continued to run his organization from within the prison through Stringer. D'Angelo and Wee-Bey were imprisoned alongside Avon, both due to serve much longer terms.

Wee-Bey informed Avon that a prison guard, Dwight Tilghman , was harassing him, in retaliation for the murder of a relative.

Avon tried to reason with Tilghman, but the guard refused to talk to him. Knowing that Tilghman had a side line in smuggling narcotics into the prison, Avon contrived to supply him with tainted heroin, causing numerous deaths. When the warden began an investigation, Avon came forth as an "informant", accusing Tilghman of the crime.

Narcotics were found in Tilghman's car, leading to his arrest. As a result of his testimony, Avon's first parole hearing was brought forward in exchange for the information. Despite being the one ultimately responsible for the crime, he is due to be out of jail within a year.