A few years back, Nathan "Bodie" Barksdale had a public spat with "The Wire" creator David Simon over the extent to which he was an inspiration for drug boss Avon Barksdale in the series. All the while, he vowed that he was long out of the game.
But now the Drug Enforcement Administration says Barksdale is a high-ranking member of the Black Guerrilla Family. U.S. marshals arrested him this week on federal heroin and gun charges after he spent a short spell on the run.
Barksdale, 52, is accused of taking part in a heroin conspiracy with alleged drug supplier Suraj Tairu, who is also charged in the case. 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.