SUSSEX – A Surry County judge
will set a trial date for Michael Vick
and three co-defendants on state
dogfighting charges on Nov. 27.
The suspended Atlanta Falcons
quarterback and the others are not
expected to be present at the hearing,
Surry County Commonwealth’s Attorney
Gerald G. Poindexter said after
a hearing Wednesday to determine if
each defendant had legal representation.
Poindexter said he hopes to have
the trial begin as soon as possible.
“All the good citizens of Surry
County I am sure would like to see an
end to this, along with a lot of other
good people,” Poindexter said.
Virginia Beach attorney Larry
Woodward, who will represent Vick
on the state charges, said Vick turned
himself in last week in Surry County
for pretrial processing and bonding.
Vick already has pleaded guilty to a
federal dogfighting conspiracy charge
and is awaiting sentencing Dec. 10.
Vick was charged last week in the
rural county, home to his dogfighting
enterprise since 2001, with two state
felony counts – beating or killing or
causing dogs to fight other dogs and
engaging in or promoting dogfighting.
Each felony is punishable by up to five
years in prison.
His lawyers have said they will fight
the state charges on the grounds he
can’t be convicted twice of the same
crime. In pleading guilty to a federal
conspiracy charge Aug. 27, Vick admitted
helping to kill six to eight dogs,
among other things. He faces up to five
years in prison, while co-defendants
Tony Taylor, Purnell Peace and Quanis
Phillips also pleaded guilty to the same
federal charge.
Vick, suspended indefinitely by
the NFL without pay, tested positive
last month for marijuana, a violation
of U.S. District Court Judge Henry
Hudson’s order that he stay clean
in exchange for being allowed to be
free.
After that positive test, Hudson
ordered Vick confined to his home
address between 10 p.m. and 6
a.m., with electronic monitoring and
random drug testing.