Vick could stillface state charges

RICHMOND, Va. -- Michael Vick's legal troubles might not end with his guilty plea to a federal dogfighting conspiracy charge.

The NFL star still faces the possibility of prosecution in state court, where the punishment could far exceed the maximum five years in prison that he could get from U.S. District Judge Henry Hudson.

Local prosecutor Gerald Poindexter has said he likely will pursue charges against Vick, who has plummeted from local hero to high-profile symbol of animal abuse in the four months since authorities first raided his Surry County property. According to Poindexter, the case could go before a county grand jury that is scheduled to convene Sept. 25.

Poindexter did not return phone messages at his office and on his cell phone Tuesday.

Among the state laws Vick could be charged with violating are those against dogfighting and animal cruelty. Both are felonies punishable by up to five years in prison.

"The real question is how much overlap there would be between anything the local prosecutor would charge and what the federal prosecutors charged," said Linda Malone, a criminal procedure expert and Marshall-Wythe Foundation professor of law at the College of William and Mary. "There are some limitations on duplication."

The federal charge is conspiracy to travel in interstate commerce in aid of unlawful activities and conspiracy to sponsor a dog in an animal fighting venture. Malone said the state dogfighting charges probably would not be considered duplicative.

"The essence of the conspiracy charge is the agreement" between Vick and his co-conspirators, Malone said.

Three Vick associates have pleaded guilty to the conspiracy charge and said Vick provided virtually all the gambling and operating funds for the "Bad Newz Kennels" dogfighting enterprise.

Convictions on eight animal cruelty counts could result in up to 40 years in prison if five-year terms for each count were imposed to run consecutively.

-- AP

Each dogfighting count could run the sentence up even higher.

Vick, 27, will enter his plea agreement Monday. A government official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the terms are not final, told the AP that prosecutors will recommend a sentence of one year to 18 months. However, Hudson is not bound by that recommendation or by federal sentencing guidelines that will call for less than the five-year maximum.

James D. "Butch" Williams Jr., one of Vick's five defense attorneys, said his client is fully aware that he could be facing a long stretch in prison.

"Michael's been fully apprised of all angles, all aspects," Williams said.

Lead defense attorney Billy Martin announced Vick's decision to change his earlier not guilty plea in a statement Monday, saying Vick was ready to "accept full responsibility for his actions and the mistakes he has made."

It's still unclear whether those mistakes have ended the career of one of the NFL's most dazzling players. The league condemned his involvement in the dogfighting venture but is withholding further action against Vick pending its own investigation.