Michael Vick's attorneys are engaged in plea negotiations with federal prosecutors and the Falcons quarterback could reach an agreement before new dogfighting charges are handed down next week, according to a person with knowledge of the negotiations.

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.

Collins Spencer, a spokesman for Vick's lawyers, declined to comment Tuesday on any possible negotiations.

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 Nov. 26 trial.

Vick's lead attorney, Billy Martin, could not be reached for comment.

If the announcement is that Vick has reached a plea agreement, the embattled star quarterback is expected to be sentenced to some time in prison, according to federal sentencing guidelines.

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.

This week, Vick learned that in the criminal justice system, friendship only goes so far.

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 July 30 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.

Attorneys for both Peace and Phillips declined to comment Monday.

"There's no telling until the actual pleas, but this doesn't sound like good news for Michael Vick," said Kent Alexander, once the U.S. attorney in Atlanta and now Emory University's general counsel. "Usually, if people plead guilty early in a case they may be cooperating with the government. That's what it sounds like here."

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 Surry County, Va., 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 dogfighting operation and gambling monies.

At various times, Taylor, Peace and Phillips executed dogs they didn't think would fight well by shooting them, the statement says. The indictment issued earlier in July said Vick also executed dogs.

The plea deals for Taylor, Peace and Phillips emerged after federal prosecutors announced at their arraignment hearing last month that they would be seeking a superseding indictment, meaning they could name additional charges and defendants in the case. That indictment is expected to be announced before the end of this month.

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.

A call to Vick's agent, Joel Segal, was not returned Monday. The Falcons declined to comment on the latest developments in Vick's case.

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.

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.

Should Holder's report lead Goodell to determine Vick violated the NFL's player conduct policy, he could issue a suspension. Holder's report also could show that Vick did not violate the policy and that no league-ordered suspension or other discipline is warranted.

A high-ranking NFL team official said Goodell likely would meet with Vick or his legal representation before levying any suspension. Such a meeting has yet to take place.

Falcons 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.

Blank and McKay also said there were discussions about cutting Vick.

Coach Bobby Petrino said Monday he had not been told of any developments from the NFL regarding a decision on Vick.

"I'm not aware of any recent updates on this situation," Petrino said.

"We've been proceeding as if ? we have to ? he's not going to be here, and we're doing the best we can at that."



Article from http://www.ajc.com

What Vick has pobably done is bad and if he is doing plea deals he is guilty of something. If he doesn't get jail time he should least be suspended from football for sometime if indefinitely. Professional athlets are looked up to and admired by adults and children. His actions if proven guitly of them should be punished. He is a professional football player and people wear clothes and buy gear with his name on it and now his name doesn't mean much and is almost a disgrace to football.

The Falcons should cut him and just the league owners just agree on not picking him up. He will just go away.

Sorry to be so mean to the guy but if he is guilty of all this dog fighting stuff and the execution of dogs he should be punished as well if our laws are to easy.


Just my thoughts on the matter.


-D1-

So Michael Vick has copped a guilty plea in a deal for a reduced sentence on charges of transporting dogs over state lines for illegal dogfighting activities.

The star quarterback will reportedly serve 12 to 18 months in jail as part of the agreement if the judge accepts the deal, and his attorney, Billy Martin, said Vick's camp was awaiting word from NFL commissioner Roger Goodell on the future of his football career.

Future career?

Who is going to tune in to watch Vick throw a football ever again? I don't care if Vick has paid his dues to society, I for one won't be watching this guy play the game after he's set free.

Millions of kids grow up watching NFL games with their family and friends, and like it or not, they are influenced by the on-the-field AND off-the-field behavior of their football heroes.

No parent in his right mind should let their children root for this guy. Vick is a cruel, vicious dog-killer.

And what of the gambling allegations leveled against him? Do you think prosecutors have agreed to overlook those allegations ? which, at least to Vick, are even more important than the animal cruelty charges ? as part of the guilty plea arrangement?

Of course they will.

You see, the NFL bans any player associated with gambling activities, and the other two defendants in the case have reportedly told prosecutors that Vick fully funded gambling associated with the dogfighting ring, and that he once even delivered a "book bag" filled with $23,000 in cash after one of his dogs lost a fight.

Vick's career would be kaput if he were indicted on gambling charges. So something tells me Vick and his legal team would take a guilty plea only if gambling were not part of the indictment against him.

How convenient. It's also a bit confusing how it's OK in the NFL to be a felon, but not a gambler ? but maybe it's just me.

I don't know Michael Vick, but I do know that even after serving his time, the man doesn't belong on national television.

I'm not saying that he should be denied the right to earn a living, however.

If the NFL wants to let some team pay him for his services, that's all well and good, but that team shouldn't be allowed to appear on television, where millions of people have to relive those images of bloodied and mutilated dogs, with their ears, noses and faces chewed off.

Now, I've heard both sides of this argument debated over the past few weeks.

Some people say that no matter how cruel Vick's crime against animals is, dogs have no souls and do not go to heaven. Therefore, the amount of outrage, some say, was unwarranted.

On the other side, critics ? me included ? would like to see Vick himself thrown to a pack of hungry, killer-trained dogs, like some of the pets that are kidnapped by dogfighting purveyors for training purposes, and see how the guy who takes to the field all padded up with helmet and shoulder pads handles a little tooth-to-skin combat.

Or better yet, let's let him play quarterback for the Falcons, and electrocute him the first time they lose.

Plead out all you want, Vick, but no matter how much time passes, people won't forget the kind of person you are.

Americans love a comeback story. Just not yours.

Things That Make Me Go Grrr!

You know when the right lane on a three lane highway merges with the center lane so that there are only two lanes left? Don't you just love when some Oblivion guns it in order to beat you to the merge ? passing you on the right and barely making it?

I encountered one such moron over the weekend who nearly crashed into me, and I was so Grrr'd, I could have rear-ended this jerk at the next light. I refrained, since I know that would only be detrimental to me, no matter how much I was grinding my teeth.

I also refrained from hitting the high beams and staying on his tail for the rest of the trip. I mean, I did a little bit, but I let it go after a few hundred feet. You never know what kind of idiot is driving the car.

Last thing I need is to get shot dead due to some guy's road rage. But man, do you ever get that feeling of absolute rage yourself? I mean, it's one thing if I was putting along. But I wasn't, so this idiot really had to push his car to beat me to the merge.

The real kicker is while the rightmost lane was merging, the traffic was also shifting, so I was focused on the car in front of me to my left who was drifting into my lane, as this clown was racing past me on the right.

Who designs these roads anyway? GRRR!



Article from http://www.foxnews.com