SURRY, Va. — Former NFL quarterback Michael Vick plans to plead guilty to state dogfighting charges, a step that could allow him to qualify for an early release from federal prison and into a halfway house, court papers show.
In a motion filed Oct. 15 in Surry County Circuit Court, Vick’s attorneys asked to have him enter his plea by video teleconference. A hearing on the motion is scheduled for Oct. 30.
His guilty plea would also allow him to pursue a halfway house program. Under federal rules, Vick is ineligible to be released to a Residential Re-entry Center in the federal system until any pending charges against him are resolved.
The plea deal, if approved, also would satisfy the county’s need to hold him accountable for the grisly crimes he bankrolled and participated in at a rural house he owned there.
“I’m not trying to make him suffer,” Commonwealth’s Attorney Gerald Poindexter said. “I’m just trying to make him account for what he’s done.”
Vick pleaded guilty to federal conspiracy charges tied to the dogfighting operation last summer and is serving a 23-month term.
