Stanfield Organization

Lore & Background

By Season Four, Marlo's crew becomes the most powerful drug organization in West Baltimore, and forms an alliance with the New Day Co-Op while ruling its streets through fear. In Season Five, after a period of aggressive expansion which culminates in Marlo seizing control of the Co-Op, a series of arrests and deaths destroy the organization. The organization is led by Marlo Stanfield, a rising gang leader who gets into a turf war with the Barksdale Organization, becoming the key West Baltimore drug kingpin following Stringer Bell's death and Avon Barksdale's arrest. His second-in-command is Chris Partlow, and the third most recognized leader is Monk Metcalf. Soldiers include Felicia "Snoop" Pearson, one of the chief enforcers. Michael Lee is a middle school pupil taken under the wing of Chris Partlow and Snoop Pearson in season four and trained as a soldier, with Marlo's approval but not direct training. O-Dog (a different character from Darius Hill) is a teenage soldier trained to kill by Snoop Pearson.

In Their Own Story

After the Barksdale crew realizes Orlando was cooperating with the police, Savino met with Orlando and Detective Greggs—who posed as Orlando's girlfriend—and together they drove to a secluded location for a drug buy. Savino left the car, ostensibly to pick up Orlando's drugs, allowing enforcers Wee-Bey Brice and Little Man to reveal themselves and shoot into the car. Before the shooting, Savino tried to signal them about Greggs' unplanned presence, only intending to kill the turncoat Orlando, but the darkness made them unable to see him and they followed through with the plan, killing Orlando and severely wounding Greggs. Afterward, warrants were written for Savino, the only person involved in the shooting known to the police beforehand, and he turned himself in after an unproductive manhunt. Barksdale attorney Maurice Levy argued that Savino was merely intending to defraud Orlando—selling him baking soda instead of cocaine—and was unconnected to the shooting, forcing the District Attorney to charge him with distributing false narcotics, which only carries a maximum three-year prison sentence. When the police try to convince him to turn evidence on the Barksdale crew, Savino cockily says "I can do the three. Ain't no thing."

Reader's Guide

The Stanfield Organization violently clashes with the Barksdale crew after the latter is forced to move on from the demolished Franklin Terrace Towers and tries to reclaim the streets the gang once dominated. The organization is the most violent and ruthless of the street-level drug trade organizations portrayed in The Wire. Key figures include Marlo Stanfield (played by Jamie Hector), Chris Partlow (played by Gbenga Akinnagbe), and Monk Metcalf. Soldiers include Savino Bratton (played by Chris Clanton), Felicia "Snoop" Pearson (played by Felicia Pearson), Michael Lee (played by Tristan Wilds), and O-Dog (played by Darrell Britt-Gibson). Dealers include Bodie Broadus, who was a dealer for Avon Barksdale, then briefly independent, until Marlo forces him to join his crew. He is shot and killed by O-Dog, after Monk sees Bodie having a conversation with McNulty.

Did You Know?

• The Stanfield Organization is the only crew in West Baltimore that refused to be absorbed into the feared Barksdale gang.
• Omar Little's gang war against the Stanfield Organization claimed several soldiers, including Fruit and others, but Savino Bratton—a former Barksdale soldier killed by Omar in Season 3—was never part of the Stanfield Org
• O-Dog (not Darius Hill) and another soldier executed Bodie Broadus, but the killing was not carried out solely by Darius Hill with two shots to the head.
• Michael Lee, a middle school pupil, was trained as a soldier by Chris Partlow and Snoop Pearson in season four, not directly by Marlo Stanfield.
• Cheese Wagstaff, nephew of Proposition Joe, joined Marlo for a short time before Marlo's retirement and was ultimately killed by Slim Charles as revenge for Proposition Joe.

Origins and Rise to Power

The Stanfield Organization is introduced in Season Three of The Wire as a growing and significantly violent drug syndicate led by Marlo Stanfield. Marlo has established his organization's power in West Baltimore's main streets in the shadow of the dominating Barksdale Organization, which was more concerned with conducting its activities in the Franklin Terrace Towers. The Stanfield Organization violently clashes with the Barksdale crew after the latter is forced to move on from the demolished Franklin Terrace Towers and tries to reclaim the streets the gang once dominated. Marlo's is the only crew in the area not to let itself be absorbed into the feared Barksdale gang, and a violent turf war breaks out. The Stanfield Organization begins as the underdog, but fallout from the strain of the war combined with internal strife among the Barksdale Organization leadership, the organization's ongoing war with stickup man Omar Little and a successful investigation by the Major Crimes Unit manages to destroy the Barksdale Organization at the end of Season Three.

Leadership Structure and Key Figures

Marlo Stanfield is a rising gang leader who gets into a turf war with the Barksdale Organization, becoming the key West Baltimore drug kingpin following Stringer Bell's death and Avon Barksdale's arrest. Stanfield is played by Jamie Hector. Chris Partlow is Marlo Stanfield's second-in-command in his drug dealing operation. He is played by Gbenga Akinnagbe. Monk Metcalf is a lieutenant in the Stanfield organization, and the third most recognized leader of the Stanfield Organization. Felicia "Snoop" Pearson is one of the chief enforcers in the Stanfield Organization, along with Chris Partlow. Michael Lee is a soft-spoken middle school pupil who gets taken under the wing of Stanfield and Partlow in season four and trained as a soldier. Michael is played by Tristan Wilds. O-Dog, real name Darius Hill, is a teenage soldier who is being trained to kill by Snoop Pearson in the fourth season.

The Most Violent Era

The Stanfield Organization is the most violent and ruthless of the street-level drug trade organizations portrayed in The Wire. By Season Four, Marlo's crew becomes the most powerful drug organization in West Baltimore, and forms an alliance with the New Day Co-Op while ruling its streets through fear. In Season Five, after a period of aggressive expansion which culminates in Marlo seizing control of the Co-Op, a series of arrests and deaths destroy the organization. O-Dog is one of the soldiers responsible for subduing Little Kevin and sending him to his death. Along with Chris and Snoop, he is responsible for the execution of Bodie at the end of season 4. O-Dog exits a vacant and fires a shot to Bodie's head while he focuses on defending himself from Chris and Snoop, and fires another shot to the head once Bodie is down, earning him the nods of respect from Chris and Snoop.

The Fall and Final Casualties

In Season Five, after a period of aggressive expansion which culminates in Marlo seizing control of the Co-Op, a series of arrests and deaths destroy the organization. Savino Bratton, a former Barksdale soldier who joined the Stanfield Organization after his release from prison, was ambushed in a corner by Omar Little, who after a brief conversation, killed Savino with a single gunshot to the head, in revenge for the torture-murder of Butchie by Chris Partlow and Snoop. Omar identified him as a past Barksdale soldier and, knowing his violent history, refused to accept Savino's explanation that he was not present at the incident, reasoning that if Savino had been there he would have joined in with the others. After Omar's own death, the police found his "hit-list" and discover all the upper-tier members of the Stanfield Organization he planned to kill. Savino's name was the only one crossed out, which means he was ultimately the only major casualty of Omar's gang war, and ironically the last casualty of his past hatred of the Barksdale Organization.