"Joey Potter is a headstrong, vibrant, wily, sultry, and determined go - getter. And yet, in a gloriously contradictory manner, in spite of her tough - as - nails exterior demeanor, Joey 's also a frail, sometimes uncertain, emotionally sensitive, in - need - of - love person '', said the show 's official book. Joey, named for Jo in Little Women, for years had been climbing in Dawson 's bedroom window and platonically sharing his bed. Joey 's mother had died from cancer when Joey was thirteen and her father, Mike (Gareth Williams), was in prison for "conspiracy to traffic in marijuana in excess of 10,000 pounds. '' Her harried, unmarried, and very pregnant sister, Bessie (Nina Repeta), about ten years older than Joey, was raising her while running the Ice House restaurant, where Joey worked as a waitress. GQ described Joey as "kind of an uptight fussbudget -- one who 's always twisted up over doing the right thing and bungling - up ways to hook up with her crush and across the creek neighbor, Dawson. ''
dawson creek why is joey's dad in jail
for "conspiracy to traffic in marijuana in excess of 10,000 pounds. ''