Drops

Minor Character: Las Vegas

Name	Kellen "Drops" Tyford
Gender	Male
Family	Sherri (half-sister) Dana Espinoza (ex-girlfriend) Unnamed son
City	Las Vegas
Status	Alive
Portrayed By	Method Man
First Appearance	Poppin' Tags

Kellen "Drops" Tyford is a recurring character on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.

Background[]

By his own account, Drops grew up in poverty. As his biological parents were absent, he and his half-sister, Sherry, were raised by Maria Espinoza. Drops later had a child with her daughter, Dana. He earned his nickname when he used to do marijuana runs (according to Brass, he made a lot of "drops"). Later in life, Kellen became wealthier, working for a rap artist known as Dollar. When he did, he got Mrs. Espinoza an apartment to thank her for taking care of him.

Season Six[]

Drops first appeared in Poppin' Tags, working for rap artist Dollar, who became connected to the murders of a street team for a rival artist, Hi-Def. Sometime after the incident, he apparently quit working for him and became a nightclub promoter.

Season Seven[]

His next appearance was in Big Shots, when he and a long-time friend, Champ Lanley, tried to get Aaron James (coincidentally the brother of a man from a gang who was killed by Greg in the line of duty) to invest in a nightclub they were going to open. When they were driving home from a bar, their limo was shot at by two men who wanted payback for a girl they were trying to pick up ditching them for Drops and Champ. Champ was killed by a clean headshot. Drops fired back at the car, hitting one of the shooters. When the limo crashed, Drops promised to cover for Aaron and had him run from the scene and dispose of the gun. He then claimed that only he and Champ had been in the car (the girl they picked up had been kicked out of the car by Champ and died). Eventually, the CSIs found out the truth. Brass attempted to charge Drops with the murder of the shooter he hit, but, as the lawyer pointed out, the ballistic report showed the he fired after being shot at, which is "textbook self-defense". Though it was indeed declared self-defense, Drops was later charged with a minor weapons misdemeanor and was sent to low security prison.

Season Eight[]

In Drops Out, two murders were committed in neighboring apartments both owned by Drops. One victim, Jessica Jaynes, worked for him, while the other, Maria Espinoza, was like a mother figure to him. Maria's daughter, Dana, was pregnant with Drops' son, but her whereabouts were unknown. From prison, Drops told Nick and Brass that Dana is notoriously difficult to track down, and that that the only way to find her is to let him out of prison for 48 hours so he can assist.

After another victim was found during the investigation, Drops' plan was put into action. He was fitted with an ankle monitor to dissuade him from fleeing. The search for Dana eventually led to Drops' stepsister, Sherry. While speaking with her, he wrote down information on the back of a business card which turned out to be instructions to send a GPS jammer to his club. At the club, Drops unjammed his ankle monitor and escaped.

At his apartment, he and Dana were held at gunpoint by Jessica's husband, Walter, who was seeking the money that Drops owed his family. During a scuffle, both Drops and Dana suffered non-fatal gunshot wounds; Dana's water broke from the trauma of the shot and she started going into labor. In the hospital, Dana refused to let Drops see his son, as she blamed him for her mother's death and was upset that Drops lied about stashing money. She also told him that by the time he got out of prison, she and the baby would be long gone. Despite this, Drops was relieved to be told that Dana wouldn't be charged for killing Jessica (she shot her in self-defense) and that the money he had would be going to Dana and the baby.

Appearances[]

CSI:Crime Scene Investigation
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	#
Season 6	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	X	-	-	-	-	N/A	1
Season 7	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	X	-	-	-	-	-	N/A	1
Season 8	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	X	-	-	-	N/A								1
Season 11	-	X	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	N/A			1
Total																										4