| Prosecutor says he'll seek indictments in case at Vick property |
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| Written by Admin |
| Monday, 24 September 2007 14:35 |
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RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - The prosecutor in the rural county where Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick has admitted to bankrolling a dogfighting operation plans to present ``a host of bills of indictment'' regarding the case to a grand jury on Tuesday. ``Yes, I'm presenting matters to the grand jury that involve dogfighting at 1915 Moonlight Road,'' Surry County Commonwealth's Attorney Gerald G. Poindexter told The Associated Press in a telephone interview Monday night. Moonlight Road is the address of the two story home on 15 acres that has been host to the operation known as ``Bad Newz Kennels'' since 2001, and where dogs have been trained, executed and fought. ``Most of the matters that I'm presenting have already been admitted in sworn statements authored by the defendants in the federal proceedings,'' Poindexter said. He couldn't detail the exact indictments he will pursue, but said the local investigation and the federal investigation largely focused on different crimes. ``The killing of dogs is one of those statutory prohibitions. Dogfighting is a crime, the mistreatment of animals is a crime, so you could take your pick, or take them all,'' Poindexter said before cutting the conversation short. ``I don't have anything else to say about it. I'm through with it. Hopefully it's coming to an end.'' Vick, his co-defendants and lawyers will not attend the closed proceeding. Efforts to reach Vick's lawyers were not immediately successful Monday night. Vick and three co-defendants have already pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges in the case, and all are awaiting sentencing in federal court before the end of the year. Vick, who faces up to five years in prison, also has been indefinitely suspended without pay by the NFL and been dropped by all his major sponsors, including Nike. In his written plea, Vick admitted helping kill six to eight pit bulls and supplying money for gambling on the fights. He said he did not personally place any bets or share in any winnings, but gave his three co-defendants all those proceeds. The co-defendants who previously pleaded guilty said Vick bankrolled the enterprise, and two of them said Vick helped kill dogs that were not vicious enough. The three had agreed to testify against Vick had the case gone to trial. The case began in late April when authorities conducting a drug investigation of Vick's cousin raided the former Virginia Tech star's property and seized dozens of dogs, most of them pit bulls, and equipment commonly associated with dogfighting. |
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