Stringer Bell
Encyclopedia
Russell "Stringer" Bell is a fictional character
on the HBO drama The Wire
, played by English actor Idris Elba
. Bell served as drug kingpin Avon Barksdale
's second in command, assuming direct control of the Barksdale Organization
during Avon's imprisonment. Bell attends economics
classes at Baltimore City Community College
and maintains a personal library, including a copy of Adam Smith
's The Wealth of Nations
. He attempts to legitimize the Barksdale Organization by investing in housing properties and buying influence from politicians.
An intelligent planner and businessman in the drug-filled underworld of Baltimore
, Bell is a close adviser to Barksdale and handles the economic decisions for the Barksdale crew. He is keen for the Barksdale outfit to act in a businesslike and professional manner, rather than appearing as mere thugs and gangsters and he often tries to temper Barksdale's bloodthirsty nature. Though not as vengeful as Barksdale, Bell is ruthless and completely devoted to his work, eliminating threats to the Barksdale Organization as soon as they appear.
Though he commits a number of heinous acts throughout the show, Stringer's positive attributes - intelligence, ambition, a desire to see less violence on the streets if only for the sake of profit - have received much acclaim. In more symbolic terms, Stringer's ambitions can be seen as a mirror of capitalism, just played out in the urban underclass.
.
for the murder of "Pooh" Blanchard. Avon tasked Stringer with ensuring that a not guilty verdict was returned. To this end he had enforcers Roland "Wee-Bey" Brice
, Savino and Anton "Stinkum" Artis attend the trial with him to intimidate witnesses and also bribed a key witness, Nakeesha Lyles, to change her story. When D'Angelo was released, Avon had Stringer demote him to running the operation in the low rise projects known as "the pit."
Stringer then had his hands full dealing with Omar Little
's crew, after they stole some of Barksdale's stash from the pit. Stringer visited D'Angelo to instruct him about checking his organization for an informant who may have been giving Omar information. Avon ordered contract killings on Omar and all of his crew. Avon also tasked Stringer with assisting Stinkum in taking over new territory for the organization.
Stringer took Stinkum to survey his new territory with some additional muscle in the form of Wee-Bey and Marquis "Bird" Hilton. While there, Stringer received word from D'Angelo that two of his crew, Wallace
and Poot
, had spotted Omar's boyfriend Brandon at an arcade. Stringer drove to meet the young drug dealers at the arcade bringing the three enforcers with him. He had them abduct Brandon using handcuffs and posing as police officers. They tortured Brandon to death trying to discover Omar's whereabouts. They then mutilated his corpse and displayed it in the low rises as Avon had instructed. Omar responded to the brutal slaying by striking back at Stinkum and Wee-Bey as they made their move on the new territory, killing Stinkum and wounding Wee-Bey.
With this escalation of the conflict, Stringer tried to persuade Avon to offer Omar a truce. His plan was to let Omar grow complacent, then kill him when he let his guard down. Avon initially brushed this suggestion aside, but after Omar nearly killed him, he agreed with Stringer's advice. Stringer also persuaded Avon to give up his pager so that he could act as a buffer between Avon and the rest of their operation.
As Avon grew increasingly suspicious that the police were watching him, Stringer took precautions to smoke out informants and to counter wiretaps. He instructed D'Angelo to withhold pay from his subordinates for several weeks; the ones who weren't asking for money at the end of that time were the ones who were being paid as informants. However, no informants were found. To foil wiretaps, Stringer insisted on phone discipline, asking D'Angelo's crew to remove nearby payphones and to walk longer distances to other phones instead.
When it came time for Avon to clean house, Stringer ordered the murder of Wallace, who had been a key witness in the killing of Omar's boyfriend. Stringer tried to find out about Wallace's whereabouts from D'Angelo but D'Angelo realized his friend was in danger and only told Stringer that Wallace had left their business. Stringer turned to Bodie Broadus
, D'Angelo's second in the pit operation and learned that Wallace had returned to working for D'Angelo. Stringer asked Bodie to murder Wallace. He also had the witness he had bribed in D'Angelo's trial, Nakeesha Lyles, killed. Stringer assumed command of the Barksdale crew when Avon was arrested at the end of season one. D'Angelo was also arrested and when he learned of the murder of his friend Wallace he blamed Stringer, driving a wedge between the two. Stringer rewarded Bodie's loyalty by promoting him to run their operation at the 221 tower.
Stringer had secretly become involved with Donette, D'Angelo's ex-girlfriend. He used the relationship to keep watch on the young Barksdale, growing concerned at D'Angelo's increasingly hostile attitude towards his uncle. When D'Angelo cut himself off from his family, Stringer grew worried that he might turn on them. He organized a contract killing through a connection in Washington, DC. Stringer's connection had his cousin strangle D'Angelo in prison and stage the death as a suicide. Stringer was emphatic that Avon could not learn of his actions.
Stringer's relationship with Avon began to fray further as he secretly agreed to share Barksdale territory with Proposition Joe
in exchange for Joe's higher-quality heroin, an idea which Avon vehemently opposed. Finally, when Avon hired legendary New York enforcer Brother Mouzone to chase Proposition Joe's dealers out of the Barksdale towers, Stringer had to maneuver carefully to preserve his alliance with Joe while keeping it secret from Avon; he solved this problem by tricking Omar into shooting Mouzone by blaming him for Brandon's death. After Mouzone returned home, Avon grudgingly agreed to Stringer's proposal, but the two were no longer as close as they had been before.
with Proposition Joe and other rival dealers, and running meetings with his underlings according to Robert's Rules of Order
. Stringer was also shown to have been involved in political donations since season 1, giving money to consultants and politicians including State Senator Clay Davis
in order to facilitate the development of a set of condominiums.
After Avon was released from prison, he proved uninterested in Stringer's plan to reform the Barksdale organization's drug operations and transition from a criminal to a legitimate businessman. While Stringer wanted to move into a strictly financial role of wholesaling drugs then using the profits to make legitimate business investments, Avon, fresh out of prison, was determined to remain a gangster and go to war against the fledgling drug lord Marlo Stanfield
. As Avon's war against Marlo spiraled out of control, Stringer found himself in danger of being cut off from Proposition Joe and the co-op's heroin supply. In Stringer's view, this would have made a victory over Marlo worthless, as street corners generate no money without drugs to sell on them.
Beyond their differences over how to run their empire, Avon accused Stringer of lacking the toughness necessary for their business. Angry at the accusation, Stringer reasserted his attitude by revealing that he had ordered D'Angelo's death, claiming that D'Angelo was starting to break under the pressures of prison life and would have given everyone in the Barksdale organization up as soon as he could have. Stringer tells Barksdale that he made the decision to have D'Angelo killed because he knew Avon would be unable to order the death of his own nephew, even if he knew that D'Angelo would eventually flip. Stringer's relationship was irreparably damaged by this revelation, and while Avon eventually seemed to come to terms with Stringer's role in D'Angelo's death, things were not the same between the two afterwards.
To make matters worse, Stringer's efforts at real estate development were hamstrung by the nuances of a legitimate business world that, college courses aside, Stringer did not fully understand. His condominium project was repeatedly delayed by various bureaucratic obstacles including redesigns required by housing codes, recalcitrant permit assessors, and the usual unanticipated hurdles that occur in construction projects. Though his co-developers took these setbacks in stride, viewing them as the cost of doing business, Stringer was frustrated by what he perceived as inexcusable foot-dragging that would not be tolerated in the drug world. Even worse, Stringer paid Clay Davis massive bribes to connect Stringer's organization with federal housing grants, only to learn that Davis had fabricated his federal contact and pocketed the money. Stringer, being unfamiliar with the way such arrangements work, assumed that bribery was as common in legitimate business as it was in the drug trade and was easily duped. Having made the crucial mistake of leaving his lawyer Maurice Levy out of the loop on his dealings with Davis, Stringer sought Levy's counsel only after he had paid Davis over $250,000. When Stringer asked Levy why other developers were being awarded housing grants and he wasn't despite the money he had "put in", Levy immediately recognized what had happened and told Stringer that he had been robbed by Davis. Enraged, Stringer instructed Slim Charles to assassinate Davis, an order that was immediately rebuffed by Avon. Avon pointed out that killing a state senator would likely bring down the wrath of state and federal authorities upon the Barksdale organization. Avon insinuated that he knew Stringer's efforts at legitimate business and high-stakes political maneuvering would ultimately fail and chided Stringer for his naivete, telling him, "They saw your ghetto ass coming from miles away."
As Stringer saw his relationship with Avon deteriorate and his legitimate business ambitions imperiled, he moved quickly to return Avon to prison. To that end, he betrayed Avon to Howard "Bunny" Colvin by revealing the location of his safehouse, in the hopes of getting Avon out of the way long enough for Stringer to steer the organization toward his objectives. However, Stringer himself was simultaneously betrayed by Avon when Brother Mouzone confronted him about Stringer's plot to engineer a conflict between Mouzone and Omar Little
. Mouzone told Avon that he knew Stringer had intentionally fed Omar misinformation and that he held Avon responsible for Stringer's actions, threatening to use his connections to cut off the Barksdale organization's supply of drugs from New York. In an effort to avoid a war with Mouzone, Avon reluctantly gave him information about Stringer's whereabouts.
Shortly after Avon's meeting with Brother Mouzone, Avon and Stringer enjoyed one last drink together at Avon's harborside condominium, reminiscing about the past and acting as if their old friendship was intact, despite each man having betrayed the other. The next day Omar and Brother Mouzone tracked Stringer to his development site, killed his bodyguard, and, after a tense confrontation, killed him.
With Stringer dead and Avon imprisoned along with most of his men, the Barksdale organization crumbled. Slim Charles became de facto
leader of what remained of the Barksdale crew, which he merged with Proposition Joe's drug operations. Marlo Stanfield became the new power in West Baltimore by default.
After Stringer's death, Detective McNulty
and the police searched his apartment. The apartment was extremely clean, stylishly furnished and tastefully decorated. Far from any expectations of a drug kingpin, his bookshelf included a copy of The Wealth of Nations
. McNulty was amazed at how little he truly knew about Stringer, despite having spent three years building a case against him.
, while describing to Lester Freamon
how drug money is routed from the kingpins to state and city politicians through their lawyers, mentions how he conned a fellow named "Bell" into giving him a great deal of money because Davis had convinced him that he would be able to use his connections to push his development forward quickly. As Davis laughs about how he conned Stringer, Freamon's eyes light up in recognition.
—specifically, his crossover from the illegal drug trade to legitimate business ownership and political contributions.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
on the HBO drama The Wire
The Wire (TV series)
The Wire is an American television drama series set and produced in and around Baltimore, Maryland. Created and primarily written by author and former police reporter David Simon, the series was broadcast by the premium cable network HBO in the United States...
, played by English actor Idris Elba
Idris Elba
Idrissa Akuna "Idris" Elba is a British television, theatre, and film actor. He has starred in both British and American productions. Elba grew up in Canning Town, East London. One of his first acting roles was in the soap opera Family Affairs. He has worked in a variety of TV roles including ...
. Bell served as drug kingpin Avon Barksdale
Avon Barksdale
Avon Randolph Barksdale is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire portrayed by actor Wood Harris. Avon is the dominant drug dealer of Baltimore's West Side, running the Barksdale Organization...
's second in command, assuming direct control of the Barksdale Organization
Barksdale Organization
In the television series The Wire, the fictional Barksdale Organization led by Avon Barksdale began as the most powerful and violent drug crew in Baltimore, Maryland and was the main focus of investigation in seasons one and three...
during Avon's imprisonment. Bell attends economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
classes at Baltimore City Community College
Baltimore City Community College
Baltimore City Community College is a community college in Baltimore, Maryland. It was founded in 1947 and has about 7,200 students enrolled in one of its three campuses...
and maintains a personal library, including a copy of Adam Smith
Adam Smith
Adam Smith was a Scottish social philosopher and a pioneer of political economy. One of the key figures of the Scottish Enlightenment, Smith is the author of The Theory of Moral Sentiments and An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations...
's The Wealth of Nations
The Wealth of Nations
An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, generally referred to by its shortened title The Wealth of Nations, is the magnum opus of the Scottish economist and moral philosopher Adam Smith...
. He attempts to legitimize the Barksdale Organization by investing in housing properties and buying influence from politicians.
An intelligent planner and businessman in the drug-filled underworld of Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
, Bell is a close adviser to Barksdale and handles the economic decisions for the Barksdale crew. He is keen for the Barksdale outfit to act in a businesslike and professional manner, rather than appearing as mere thugs and gangsters and he often tries to temper Barksdale's bloodthirsty nature. Though not as vengeful as Barksdale, Bell is ruthless and completely devoted to his work, eliminating threats to the Barksdale Organization as soon as they appear.
Though he commits a number of heinous acts throughout the show, Stringer's positive attributes - intelligence, ambition, a desire to see less violence on the streets if only for the sake of profit - have received much acclaim. In more symbolic terms, Stringer's ambitions can be seen as a mirror of capitalism, just played out in the urban underclass.
Biography
Stringer was born September 17, 1969, and grew up in the West Baltimore projects alongside childhood friends Avon Barksdale and Wee-Bey BriceWee-Bey Brice
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....
.
Season one
Stringer was first seen with a trio of enforcers at the court house. He was attending the trial of Avon's nephew and lieutenant D'Angelo BarksdaleD'Angelo Barksdale
D'Angelo "D" Barksdale is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire played by actor Larry Gilliard Jr. D'Angelo is the nephew of Avon Barksdale and a lieutenant in his drug dealing organization which controls most of the trade in West Baltimore...
for the murder of "Pooh" Blanchard. Avon tasked Stringer with ensuring that a not guilty verdict was returned. To this end he had enforcers Roland "Wee-Bey" Brice
Wee-Bey Brice
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....
, Savino and Anton "Stinkum" Artis attend the trial with him to intimidate witnesses and also bribed a key witness, Nakeesha Lyles, to change her story. When D'Angelo was released, Avon had Stringer demote him to running the operation in the low rise projects known as "the pit."
Stringer then had his hands full dealing with Omar Little
Omar Little
Omar Devone Little is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, portrayed by Michael K. Williams. Omar is a renowned stick-up man who lives by a strict moral code and never deviates from his rules, foremost of which is that he never robs or menaces people who are not involved in "the game"....
's crew, after they stole some of Barksdale's stash from the pit. Stringer visited D'Angelo to instruct him about checking his organization for an informant who may have been giving Omar information. Avon ordered contract killings on Omar and all of his crew. Avon also tasked Stringer with assisting Stinkum in taking over new territory for the organization.
Stringer took Stinkum to survey his new territory with some additional muscle in the form of Wee-Bey and Marquis "Bird" Hilton. While there, Stringer received word from D'Angelo that two of his crew, Wallace
Wallace (The Wire)
Wallace is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor Michael B. Jordan. Wallace is a 16-year-old drug dealer for the Barksdale Organization, who works in the low-rise projects crew known as "The Pit" with his friends and fellow dealers Bodie Broadus and Poot Carr...
and Poot
Poot Carr
Malik "Poot" Carr is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor Tray Chaney. Poot is a drug dealer in the Barksdale Organization who slowly rises through the ranks, but ends up serving time in prison as his institution collapses around him...
, had spotted Omar's boyfriend Brandon at an arcade. Stringer drove to meet the young drug dealers at the arcade bringing the three enforcers with him. He had them abduct Brandon using handcuffs and posing as police officers. They tortured Brandon to death trying to discover Omar's whereabouts. They then mutilated his corpse and displayed it in the low rises as Avon had instructed. Omar responded to the brutal slaying by striking back at Stinkum and Wee-Bey as they made their move on the new territory, killing Stinkum and wounding Wee-Bey.
With this escalation of the conflict, Stringer tried to persuade Avon to offer Omar a truce. His plan was to let Omar grow complacent, then kill him when he let his guard down. Avon initially brushed this suggestion aside, but after Omar nearly killed him, he agreed with Stringer's advice. Stringer also persuaded Avon to give up his pager so that he could act as a buffer between Avon and the rest of their operation.
As Avon grew increasingly suspicious that the police were watching him, Stringer took precautions to smoke out informants and to counter wiretaps. He instructed D'Angelo to withhold pay from his subordinates for several weeks; the ones who weren't asking for money at the end of that time were the ones who were being paid as informants. However, no informants were found. To foil wiretaps, Stringer insisted on phone discipline, asking D'Angelo's crew to remove nearby payphones and to walk longer distances to other phones instead.
When it came time for Avon to clean house, Stringer ordered the murder of Wallace, who had been a key witness in the killing of Omar's boyfriend. Stringer tried to find out about Wallace's whereabouts from D'Angelo but D'Angelo realized his friend was in danger and only told Stringer that Wallace had left their business. Stringer turned to Bodie Broadus
Bodie Broadus
Preston "Bodie" Broadus is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor J. D. Williams. Bodie is initially a Barksdale organization drug dealer in "The Pit" who slowly rises through the ranks...
, D'Angelo's second in the pit operation and learned that Wallace had returned to working for D'Angelo. Stringer asked Bodie to murder Wallace. He also had the witness he had bribed in D'Angelo's trial, Nakeesha Lyles, killed. Stringer assumed command of the Barksdale crew when Avon was arrested at the end of season one. D'Angelo was also arrested and when he learned of the murder of his friend Wallace he blamed Stringer, driving a wedge between the two. Stringer rewarded Bodie's loyalty by promoting him to run their operation at the 221 tower.
Season two
During season two Stringer faced a serious problem: the Barksdale crew's usual supplier, a Dominican named Roberto, was under investigation by the DEA. The Dominicans refused to deal with Avon, believing that he might have informed on them in exchange for a lighter sentence. Avon was unable to find a satisfactory alternative despite having connections in Philadelphia and Atlanta, causing Stringer to grow desperate.Stringer had secretly become involved with Donette, D'Angelo's ex-girlfriend. He used the relationship to keep watch on the young Barksdale, growing concerned at D'Angelo's increasingly hostile attitude towards his uncle. When D'Angelo cut himself off from his family, Stringer grew worried that he might turn on them. He organized a contract killing through a connection in Washington, DC. Stringer's connection had his cousin strangle D'Angelo in prison and stage the death as a suicide. Stringer was emphatic that Avon could not learn of his actions.
Stringer's relationship with Avon began to fray further as he secretly agreed to share Barksdale territory with Proposition Joe
Proposition Joe
Joseph "Proposition Joe" Stewart is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire played by actor Robert F. Chew. Joe is an Eastside drug kingpin who preferred a peaceful solution to business disputes when possible...
in exchange for Joe's higher-quality heroin, an idea which Avon vehemently opposed. Finally, when Avon hired legendary New York enforcer Brother Mouzone to chase Proposition Joe's dealers out of the Barksdale towers, Stringer had to maneuver carefully to preserve his alliance with Joe while keeping it secret from Avon; he solved this problem by tricking Omar into shooting Mouzone by blaming him for Brandon's death. After Mouzone returned home, Avon grudgingly agreed to Stringer's proposal, but the two were no longer as close as they had been before.
Season three
Stringer was still effectively in charge of the Barksdale empire at the start of the season, and had become even more businesslike in his thinking, obtaining real estate and legitimate business fronts for the organization, forming a retail co-opCooperative
A cooperative is a business organization owned and operated by a group of individuals for their mutual benefit...
with Proposition Joe and other rival dealers, and running meetings with his underlings according to Robert's Rules of Order
Robert's Rules of Order
Robert's Rules of Order is the short title of a book containing rules of order intended to be adopted as a parliamentary authority for use by a deliberative assembly written by Brig. Gen...
. Stringer was also shown to have been involved in political donations since season 1, giving money to consultants and politicians including State Senator Clay Davis
Clay Davis
State Senator R. Clayton "Clay" Davis is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor Isiah Whitlock, Jr. Davis is a corrupt Maryland State Senator with a reputation for pocketing bribes...
in order to facilitate the development of a set of condominiums.
After Avon was released from prison, he proved uninterested in Stringer's plan to reform the Barksdale organization's drug operations and transition from a criminal to a legitimate businessman. While Stringer wanted to move into a strictly financial role of wholesaling drugs then using the profits to make legitimate business investments, Avon, fresh out of prison, was determined to remain a gangster and go to war against the fledgling drug lord Marlo Stanfield
Marlo Stanfield
Marlo "Black" Stanfield is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor Jamie Hector. Stanfield is a young, ruthless and ambitious player in the Baltimore drug trade who gains control of West Baltimore and is the head of his own drug crew.-Character background and plot...
. As Avon's war against Marlo spiraled out of control, Stringer found himself in danger of being cut off from Proposition Joe and the co-op's heroin supply. In Stringer's view, this would have made a victory over Marlo worthless, as street corners generate no money without drugs to sell on them.
Beyond their differences over how to run their empire, Avon accused Stringer of lacking the toughness necessary for their business. Angry at the accusation, Stringer reasserted his attitude by revealing that he had ordered D'Angelo's death, claiming that D'Angelo was starting to break under the pressures of prison life and would have given everyone in the Barksdale organization up as soon as he could have. Stringer tells Barksdale that he made the decision to have D'Angelo killed because he knew Avon would be unable to order the death of his own nephew, even if he knew that D'Angelo would eventually flip. Stringer's relationship was irreparably damaged by this revelation, and while Avon eventually seemed to come to terms with Stringer's role in D'Angelo's death, things were not the same between the two afterwards.
To make matters worse, Stringer's efforts at real estate development were hamstrung by the nuances of a legitimate business world that, college courses aside, Stringer did not fully understand. His condominium project was repeatedly delayed by various bureaucratic obstacles including redesigns required by housing codes, recalcitrant permit assessors, and the usual unanticipated hurdles that occur in construction projects. Though his co-developers took these setbacks in stride, viewing them as the cost of doing business, Stringer was frustrated by what he perceived as inexcusable foot-dragging that would not be tolerated in the drug world. Even worse, Stringer paid Clay Davis massive bribes to connect Stringer's organization with federal housing grants, only to learn that Davis had fabricated his federal contact and pocketed the money. Stringer, being unfamiliar with the way such arrangements work, assumed that bribery was as common in legitimate business as it was in the drug trade and was easily duped. Having made the crucial mistake of leaving his lawyer Maurice Levy out of the loop on his dealings with Davis, Stringer sought Levy's counsel only after he had paid Davis over $250,000. When Stringer asked Levy why other developers were being awarded housing grants and he wasn't despite the money he had "put in", Levy immediately recognized what had happened and told Stringer that he had been robbed by Davis. Enraged, Stringer instructed Slim Charles to assassinate Davis, an order that was immediately rebuffed by Avon. Avon pointed out that killing a state senator would likely bring down the wrath of state and federal authorities upon the Barksdale organization. Avon insinuated that he knew Stringer's efforts at legitimate business and high-stakes political maneuvering would ultimately fail and chided Stringer for his naivete, telling him, "They saw your ghetto ass coming from miles away."
As Stringer saw his relationship with Avon deteriorate and his legitimate business ambitions imperiled, he moved quickly to return Avon to prison. To that end, he betrayed Avon to Howard "Bunny" Colvin by revealing the location of his safehouse, in the hopes of getting Avon out of the way long enough for Stringer to steer the organization toward his objectives. However, Stringer himself was simultaneously betrayed by Avon when Brother Mouzone confronted him about Stringer's plot to engineer a conflict between Mouzone and Omar Little
Omar Little
Omar Devone Little is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, portrayed by Michael K. Williams. Omar is a renowned stick-up man who lives by a strict moral code and never deviates from his rules, foremost of which is that he never robs or menaces people who are not involved in "the game"....
. Mouzone told Avon that he knew Stringer had intentionally fed Omar misinformation and that he held Avon responsible for Stringer's actions, threatening to use his connections to cut off the Barksdale organization's supply of drugs from New York. In an effort to avoid a war with Mouzone, Avon reluctantly gave him information about Stringer's whereabouts.
Shortly after Avon's meeting with Brother Mouzone, Avon and Stringer enjoyed one last drink together at Avon's harborside condominium, reminiscing about the past and acting as if their old friendship was intact, despite each man having betrayed the other. The next day Omar and Brother Mouzone tracked Stringer to his development site, killed his bodyguard, and, after a tense confrontation, killed him.
With Stringer dead and Avon imprisoned along with most of his men, the Barksdale organization crumbled. Slim Charles became de facto
De facto
De facto is a Latin expression that means "concerning fact." In law, it often means "in practice but not necessarily ordained by law" or "in practice or actuality, but not officially established." It is commonly used in contrast to de jure when referring to matters of law, governance, or...
leader of what remained of the Barksdale crew, which he merged with Proposition Joe's drug operations. Marlo Stanfield became the new power in West Baltimore by default.
After Stringer's death, Detective McNulty
Jimmy McNulty
Detective James "Jimmy" McNulty is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by British actor Dominic West. McNulty is an Irish American detective in the Baltimore Police Department...
and the police searched his apartment. The apartment was extremely clean, stylishly furnished and tastefully decorated. Far from any expectations of a drug kingpin, his bookshelf included a copy of The Wealth of Nations
The Wealth of Nations
An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, generally referred to by its shortened title The Wealth of Nations, is the magnum opus of the Scottish economist and moral philosopher Adam Smith...
. McNulty was amazed at how little he truly knew about Stringer, despite having spent three years building a case against him.
Legacy
In the season five episode "Late Editions," Clay DavisClay Davis
State Senator R. Clayton "Clay" Davis is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor Isiah Whitlock, Jr. Davis is a corrupt Maryland State Senator with a reputation for pocketing bribes...
, while describing to Lester Freamon
Lester Freamon
Lester Freamon is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor Clarke Peters. Freamon is a detective in the Baltimore Police Department's Major Crimes Unit...
how drug money is routed from the kingpins to state and city politicians through their lawyers, mentions how he conned a fellow named "Bell" into giving him a great deal of money because Davis had convinced him that he would be able to use his connections to push his development forward quickly. As Davis laughs about how he conned Stringer, Freamon's eyes light up in recognition.
Origins
Stringer's name is a composite of two real Baltimore drug lords, Stringer Reed and Roland Bell. His story bears many similarities to the life of Kenneth A. JacksonKenneth A. Jackson
Kenneth A. Jackson is a businessman in Baltimore, Maryland, with past connections to the illegal drug trade in that city. He is one of the Baltimore underworld figures whose stories are dramatized in the HBO series The Wire, but his actual influence upon the show is disputed...
—specifically, his crossover from the illegal drug trade to legitimate business ownership and political contributions.