Wee-Bey Brice
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Wee-Bey | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| First appearance | The Target (episode 1.01) |
| Statistics | |
| Aliases | Wee Bay |
| Gender | Male |
| Age | 30s |
| Occupation | Prisoner(Former Gang enforcer) |
| Spouse | Da'Londa Brice |
| Children | Namond Brice |
| Portrayed by | Hassan Johnson |
| Created by | David Simon |
Roland "Wee-Bey" Brice is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire played by actor Hassan Johnson. Wee-Bey was the Barksdale organization's most trusted soldier before being sentenced to life imprisonment for multiple homicides.
Contents |
[edit] Biography
[edit] Season 1
Wee-Bey is Avon Barksdale's trusted primary soldier and friend. Wee-Bey was also one of Avon's most feared enforcers, responsible for the deaths of Orlando, former state's witness Nakeesha Lyles, Barksdale soldier Little Man, stick-up artist Brandon and Avon's ex-lover Deidre Kresson, among many others. Wee-Bey was also behind the non-fatal shooting of detective Kima Greggs. He holds the respect of Avon's ruthless second-in-command Stringer Bell.
Nakeesha Lyles was a security guard at the building where D'Angelo Barksdale killed "Poo" Blanchard. She identified him for the police but when she appeared in court she changed her story. The Barksdale crew intimidated Lyles and paid her to do this. Later when Avon realised the police were closing in on them he ordered Wee-Bey to kill Lyles to prevent her revealing their deal. Wee-Bey caught and killed her on her way home from work at the Barksdale controlled 221 tower building.
The investigation of Wee-Beys murder of Deirdre Kresson was a lengthy process. Kresson was Avon Barksdale's girlfriend for a time and became jealous of Avon's infidelity and threatened to inform the police about his drug dealing empire. Avon ordered Kresson killed and the homicide was initially unsolved. The case was investigated by Detective Keely and the only lead he discovered was a friend of Kresson's named Tywanda who told him that a man named D had visited Kresson that night.
At one time D'Angelo took credit for the murder to enhance his reputation to his subordinates. Eventually the pattern of events was established by homicide detectives Jimmy McNulty and Bunk Moreland and corroborated by a statement from D'Angelo and a confession from Wee-Bey. By a careful re-examination of the crime scene they established that Kresson was shot from outside of her kitchen window and the bullet lodged in the fridge door. They noted that there was cocaine on the floor after her death. D'Angelo told them that he delivered the package of cocaine and that she was putting it in the fridge when Wee-Bey tapped on her window. When she turned to the window Wee-Bey shot her.
In contrast to his long list of crimes, Wee-Bey is good-natured towards his friends, and has a passion for keeping pet fish. Wee-Bey was responsible for more mundane activities including driving Avon and D'Angelo Barksdale and picking up money. He was once stopped by Detectives Thomas "Herc" Hauk and Ellis Carver who seized 20,000 dollars from him - this was a small loss to the massive Barksdale organization.
Wee-Bey was also linked to another body - a dancer from Orlando's named Keesha. She died of a drug overdose after sleeping with Wee-Bey at a party and he wrapped her body in a carpet and dumped it.
Wee-Bey was twice involved in gunfights with legendary stick-up man Omar Little after killing and torturing Omar's lover and partner in crime Brandon. Their first encounter ended with Wee-Bey's friend Stinkum dead and Wee-Bey himself being shot in the leg. Wee-Bey later defended Avon against Omar when the stickup man used their pager communication system to lure Avon to a payphone. This time Wee-Bey won the distinction of being one of the few people to best Omar in a gunfight as he hit him in the arm and forced his retreat.
Wee-Bey's eventual downfall came from an officer involved shooting. Avon discovered from imprisoned drug dealer Marvin Browning that his front operator Orlando had been arrested on a drugs charge. Orlando tried to buy drugs from Savino and Avon realised he was likely working for the police. He had Savino lead Orlando into an ambush set up by Wee-Bey and Little Man. Wee-Bey and Little Man killed Orlando and Little Man panicked and shot detective Greggs. Wee-Bey and Little Man escaped and paged Avon to let him know that Orlando was dead. When Wee-Bey reported the actual events of the night to Stringer he was told that the woman Little Man shot was a police officer and was ordered to kill Little Man. Following this, Wee-Bey went on the run to family in Philadelphia. Before he left he murdered Little Man as ordered. D'Angelo was responsible for driving Wee-Bey to Philadelphia and taking care of his fish while he was away.
The detail tracked Wee-Bey to Philadelphia on a tip from D'Angelo when they arrested him with a large quantity of drugs. They tracked him to a row house and lured him outside by setting off his car alarm to ensure a clean arrest. Once in custody Wee-Bey confessed to all of his crimes and several more he had not committed to protect the Barksdale organization.
[edit] Season 2
Wee-Bey was imprisoned with Avon after the Barksdale detail's investigation in season one, serving life without parole for the numerous murders he committed. While in prison Wee-Bey continued to keep fish and enjoyed an easy life under Barksdale's wing. One guard in particular, Dwight Tilghman, bothered Wee-Bey because he had confessed to murdering a relative of Tilghman's. Once Wee-Bey complained to Avon, the problem was swiftly dealt with.
[edit] Season 3
Wee-Bey helped Avon to approach legendary prisoner Dennis "Cutty" Wise to offer him a position within their organization. Both Wise and Avon were paroled leaving Wee-Bey to serve his time without them. Wee-Bey was not seen again during the season, but his absence was felt: the Barksdale empire crumbled as Stringer was killed and Avon was arrested.
[edit] Season 4
Wee-Bey's son, Namond Brice, began to become involved with the drug trade while still a middle school pupil. Namond and his mother De'Londa visit Wee-Bey at the prison. Wee-Bey encourages his son to apply himself to his work as a runner for his old colleague Bodie Broadus from the Barksdale organization. He relies on De'Londa and Namond to take care of his fish. His family are provided for with money from the Barksdale organization by Brianna Barksdale, even after Avon's arrest. Wee-Bey's family are abruptly cut off by Brianna and Delonda convinces Namond to start dealing drugs for himself.[1][2]
[edit] References
- ^ Org Chart - The Street. HBO (2004). Retrieved on 2006-07-25.
- ^ Character profile - Wee-Bey. HBO (2004). Retrieved on 2006-07-24.
