Facing federal dog fighting charges, Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick was offered a plea deal and has until Friday to decide whether or not he will accept it, ESPN reported Monday.
The negotiations follow news that two more of Vick’s three co-defendants are scheduled to enter guilty pleas later this week as part of a deal with prosecutors. If prosecutors accept a plea agreement from Vick will likely serve some prison time, according to federal sentencing guidelines.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported on its Web site that attorneys for Vick were in plea negotiations Tuesday afternoon with federal prosecutors. Collins R. Spencer III, a spokesman for Vick’s lawyers, declined to comment when reached by the newspaper.
He added that Vick did not meet with his attorneys last night but said they will have a conference call with Vick this morning and may have an announcement this afternoon. Spencer did not indicate what the announcement would be.
On Monday Spencer said the legal team was “very surprised” by the pleas from Purnell Peace and Quanis Phillips and said they would not affect plans to move forward toward a November trial.
Vick’s motivation to enter a guilty plea is likely fueled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office announcement last month that it will seek a new “superseding” indictment against Vick by the end of August. With the cooperation of Vick’s three co-defendants, there will likely be new, and more specific, allegations against Vick. The federal grand jury in Richmond is expected to hand up that indictment sometime early next week. If Vick can reach an agreement by the end of this week, he would not have to answer to any additional charges.
On Monday, guilty plea hearings were scheduled for two of his co-defendants and long-time associates. Peace, 35, of Virginia Beach, has a plea hearing scheduled for Thursday in U.S. District Court in Richmond at 9 a.m., while Phillips, 28, of Atlanta, has a plea hearing set for Friday at the same time. The hearings showed up Monday on U.S. District Court Judge Henry E. Hudson’s docket.
The third co-defendant, Tony Taylor, 34, of Hampton pleaded guilty in July and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors in their case against Vick. Just days earlier, Taylor had joined Vick and the others in pleading not guilty.
A federal grand jury indicted the men last month on a single count of conspiracy to cross state lines to engage in illegal gambling; to sponsor a dog in an animal fighting venture; and to buy, transport and receive dogs for animal fighting. They face up to five years in prison and $250,000 in fines, but defendants often receive more lenient punishment when they accept responsibility and enter guilty pleas.
A 13-page statement of facts Taylor signed with prosecutors last month says Vick, Peace and Phillips set up a business called “Bad Newz Kennels” in rural Virginia to raise and train pit bulls for dogfights. It also says the men gambled on the fights in Virginia and several other states and that Vick almost exclusively funded the dog fighting operation and gambling monies.
Vick’s jury trial is scheduled for Nov. 26, deep into the Falcons’ schedule. The Falcons will have played 11 of their 16 regular-season games by then. Vick will remain free until the trial, but his availability to appear on field is unclear. The NFL barred Vick, with pay, from being with the team pending the outcome of its own investigation.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is expected to make a decision on Vick’s future in a few weeks. Goodell said he is waiting for a report from investigator Eric Holder before rendering a verdict, according to a league spokesman. No timetable has been set for Goodell’s decision, NFL vice president of public relations Greg Aiello said in a statement.
Tailback Warrick Dunn, who spoke to Vick recently, said Falcons players are already of the mindset that they’ll have to play without him.
“Mike is going to be missed, and he has been missed, but at the same time, you have to go on,” he said.
Falcon’s owner Arthur Blank and president and general manager Rich McKay have said they had enough information to lead them to draw up papers to suspend Vick for four games — the maximum a team can suspend a player for disciplinary reasons. The league could suspend Vick for a year.
Coach Bobby Petrino said Monday he had not been told of any developments from the NFL regarding a decision on Vick.
An article from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution contributed to this article.
