Voting Station

Melvin Williams

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Outlaw

The Resume

    (December 14, 1941-December 3, 2015)
    Born in Baltimore, Maryland
    Baltimore drug trafficker
    Served time for drug dealing (1969-73,1975-79,1985-96) and illegal handgun possession (2000-03)
    Inspiration for the character of Avon Barksdale in The Wire
    Portrayed the Deacon in 'The Wire' (2004-08)
    Nicknamed 'Little Melvin'

Why he might be annoying:

    By the age of 21, he had been arrested ten times for crimes including auto theft and assault, although most of the cases were either dismissed or resulted in probation.
    He was a pool hall shark before becoming a drug dealer.
    He was a vegetarian.
    Several criminal cases against him had to be dismissed when the witnesses suddenly became unwilling to testify or changed their story.
    He estimated that he earned $1 million a day from selling cocaine and heroin.
    The IRS seized his home to pay back taxes (1987).
    He pistol whipped a man over a $500 debt (1999).

Why he might not be annoying:

    He joined the city’s more conventional civic leaders to appeal for calm after the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.
    He was smart enough not to use the drugs he peddled, with one friend noting, ‘I’ve never seen him with even a beer. He’s very proud of his body and his health.’
    He claimed to have had an epiphany in jail: ‘Sometime in my fifties I became aware that there was a God in charge, and not a Melvin.’
    After his 2003 release, he counseled youths to steer clear of gang culture and avoid using drugs.

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 9 Votes: 44.44% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 160 Votes: 53.12% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 10 Votes: 70.0% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 8 Votes: 62.50% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 17 Votes: 29.41% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 16 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 10 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 36 Votes: 58.33% Annoying