Vick will take plea deal in dog-fighting case, lawyer says
August 20, 2007
FREE PRESS NEWS SERVICES
UPDATED AT 2:45 P.M.: Michael Vick’s lawyer said today the Atlanta Falcons quarterback will plead guilty to federal dogfighting conspiracy charges, which will expose him to a possible prison term and jeopardize his pro football career.
The offense is punishable by up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, although federal sentencing guidelines most likely would call for less.
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On its Web site, the Virginian Pilot said Vick has accepted a deal for 18 to 36 months in prison to avoid additional federal charges.
The newspaper said a news conference on the case is scheduled for 3 p.m. today. Come back to freep.com for more details.
A federal grand jury had been scheduled to convene today in the federal court where Vick and three co-defendants were indicted on dogfighting charges last month.
Vick’s last two co-defendants pleaded guilty Friday and said he bankrolled gambling on dogfights at Vick’s property in rural Surry County, not far from his hometown of Newport News. One said Vick helped drown or hang dogs that didn’t do well.
Quanis Phillips of Atlanta and Purnell Peace of Virginia Beach entered plea agreements and agreed to testify against Vick. Tony Taylor of Hampton struck a similar deal last month.
The gambling allegations alone could trigger a lifetime ban under the NFL’s personal conduct policy.
The NFL has barred Vick from the Falcons’ training camp but has withheld further action while the league conducts its own investigation.
Peace, Phillips and Taylor pleaded guilty to the same charges facing Vick: conspiracy to travel in interstate commerce in aid of unlawful activities and conspiracy to sponsor a dog in an animal fighting venture.
The offense is punishable by up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Sentencings for them are set for November and December
he wont be playing football this year… PETA has too much influence through the media… the NFL can’t take that kinda heat… they have to suspend him for the year. especialy with an admission of guilt from him. PAC MAN hasnt; even been found guilty of anything and he’s out for the year.
Too bad he didn’t try to fight the charges and lose, then he would have had a larger sentance.
We had our fantasy draft last friday night and one of the guys was a no show :tool: He also wouldn’t make the time to phone in his picks for the live draft :finger2: So he instead sent some POS list to me via email and when it was his turn, we were supposed to put his picks on the board. His first pick was going to be Michael Vick (because he was like #8 in the first round and all of his other top guys were gone). Guess he hasn’t watched much TV lately. I thought that since he was being a douchebag and not showing up that we should stick him with Vick for his first round pick, but some of the other guys disagreed and we gave him someone else. He did end up getting Vick in a later round though because it was like 2 in the morning and we were tired and pissed at him.
if the state tries him the penalties are stiffer. i heard the max would be 40 years. the DA is wishy washy first he said he would go after him now he does. kind of makes you think cause the DA’s position is elected maybe the people wanted him prosecuted. it also could be the DA’s 15 minutes of fame
I disagree with dog fighting, but jail time? Come on, that’s ridiculous. Fine him, take away some of his free reign with an ankle bracelet or something, but jail time is just not suitable.
I mean, you can shoot a number of animals while hunting. We kill cows so we can eat them. I don’t think we should make dogs fight, and I don’t think we should unnecessarily mistreat animals, but people need to draw the line. Everyone is just after him because he’s famous.
Maybe you could be his cell mate and when your done :bj: him he can :idb: .
Jail time is too fucking good for this asshole. I say toss him to the dogs that were rescued. Of course asshole would be handcuffed and shackled…:naughty:
bull shit… even chris rock had it right about OJ… “if Oj was a bus driver he woulda been Ornethal the bus driving murderer” he’s gettin off light because he’s an athlete. it was illegal besides the ramifications of animal cruelty.
Different charges. They are going after state laws that were broken in addition to the federal laws he broke. I say lock him up in a cage full of pit bulls and whoever comes out alive, wins. Unless it’s Vick, then just shoot his tattered carcass.
It’s hard to tell exactly what you meant, but I think I got it.
I don’t doubt that he broke a number of laws, but I don’t seem to remember hearing anything about breaking up major dog fighting rings before this story. I certainly don’t remember ever hearing about dog fighting owners being locked up.
I’m not sticking up for the guy, at all. I think he should be locked up for a long time, if not shot. But how many celebrities have done terrible things and have bought their way or used their fame to get out of trouble? I seriously doubt he’ll get anything more than probation.
