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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Vick to plead guilty in dogfighting case


Mike Brazell, of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), talks to reporters about Michael Vick outside the U.S. courthouse in Richmond, Va., on Monday. Associated Press
 (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)
Mark Maske and Jerry Markon Washington Post

Michael Vick agreed Monday to plead guilty to the federal dogfighting charges against him, a move that could land the Atlanta Falcons star quarterback in prison and leaves his once-dynamic career shrouded in uncertainty.

Vick is scheduled to appear Monday in U.S. District Court in Richmond, Va., according to his attorneys and the court’s docket. Sources familiar with the case said he is expected to plead guilty to a single conspiracy count and that the sentencing guideline range will be 12 to 18 months in prison. The sources spoke on condition of anonymity.

“Michael is prepared to take full responsibility for allowing any and all of this to happen,” Vick’s Washington, D.C.-based attorney, William R. Martin, said Monday. “He needs to put all of this behind him. He’s 27 years old and he has a full life ahead of him. He wants to get back to the life he had before.”

That may not be possible. Vick’s fall from the top ranks of National Football League stars is one of the most precipitous ever for an athlete in the prime of his career. And it raises questions of whether Vick will play again, since he still faces possible discipline by the NFL under the league’s player conduct policy.

Vick, who could not be reached Monday, decided to accept the plea deal after consulting with family over the weekend, his attorney said. Vick’s father, Michael Boddie, who lives near Vick’s home town of Newport News, Va., but is estranged from the quarterback and his mother, said, “He could have saved a lot of people a lot of heartache, like his mother, for one, if he’d done what was right from the beginning.”

The U.S. attorney’s office for the Eastern District of Virginia, which is prosecuting the case, declined comment. Any scheduled plea deal can collapse, and U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson would have to accept the agreement. Hudson also can impose a sentence on Vick outside the guideline range.

Vick’s decision to plead guilty, which came after his three co-defendants entered pleas and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors, may not end his legal troubles. Virginia prosecutors are considering additional state charges against Vick, and sources said the issue is not addressed in the federal plea agreement.

Legal experts said the Fifth Amendment’s ban on double jeopardy – trying someone twice for the same offense – likely would not apply here because the broad federal conspiracy count is different than potential state charges.

“It’s a very tough position that Vick is in,” said Anne Coughlin, a law professor at the University of Virginia. “The federal charge wouldn’t necessarily cover stuff he did in Virginia.” Dogfighting is a felony in Virginia, punishable by up to five years in prison.

Vick and his co-defendants – Tony Taylor, Purnell Peace and Quanis Phillips – were charged last month with operating a dogfighting ring based at a Vick-owned property in southeastern Virginia. The indictment portrays Vick as an active member of the venture who traveled to dogfights, paid debts for bets on fights and participated in the killing of poorly performing dogs. Vick pleaded not guilty in a Richmond courtroom last month and is scheduled to stand trial Nov. 26.

The case has triggered a storm of protest from animal rights activists, who packed the streets of Richmond for Vick’s only court appearance.

The NFL is considering disciplinary action against Vick, which likely will be determined, a source said, after he meets with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. Last month, Goodell ordered Vick not to report to the Falcons’ training camp and announced that his playing status would be determined by a review being conducted by Washington lawyer Eric H. Holder Jr. Vick also may have violated the league’s gambling policy by placing bets of thousands of dollars on the dogfights, according to the federal indictment.

In a statement Monday, the NFL said the league is aware of Vick’s decision “to accept responsibility for his conduct. We totally condemn the conduct outlined in the charges, which is inconsistent with what Michael Vick previously told both our office and the Falcons.”

One of Vick’s co-defendants, Taylor, pleaded guilty last month, signing a statement that said Vick funded the operations of the “Bad Newz Kennels,” the name of the dogfighting operation allegedly based at Vick’s home in Smithfield, Va., and its gambling efforts almost exclusively. Two more co-defendants, Peace and Phillips, pleaded guilty Friday, and Phillips signed a statement saying that Vick participated in the killings of at least eight dogs, some by hanging and drowning.

Vick, who played college football for Virginia Tech, was the top overall selection in the 2001 NFL draft and signed a 10-year, $130 million contract extension with the Falcons in 2004. That deal contained $37 million in bonuses.

Nike suspended Vick’s endorsement contract without pay, and Reebok, which has a contract with the NFL, stopped sales of his No. 7 jersey.