Michael Vick May get Early Release

Section: Sports

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SUSSEX, Va. -- Former NFL quarterback Michael Vick pleaded guilty Tuesday to a state dogfighting charge, a move that could make him eligible to leave prison early and potentially speed up a return to pro football.

Vick, 28, arrived wearing wrist and ankle shackles, but they were removed by the time he entered the courtroom. The former Atlanta Falcons star also pleaded not guilty to a count of cruelty to animals, but that count was dropped under his plea deal.

Vick's mother, Brenda Boddie, brother Marcus Vick and fiancee Kijafa Frink walked in together and sat together in the front row of the gallery with other family and friends. Vick's mother declined to comment to reporters but Marcus Vick acknowledged the family was glad the ordeal was nearly over.

After the hearing, Surry County Commonwealth Attorney Gerald Poindexter approached Vick's mother and hugged her, saying, "At least some of this is over."

Vick already is serving a 23-month sentence in Leavenworth, Kan. for bankrolling a dogfighting operation at a home he owned in eastern Virginia's rural Surry County, southeast of Richmond. He also admitted to participating in the killing of several underperforming dogs.

AP Photo/Steve Helber

Michael Vick, pictured on his way to court Tuesday, again apologized to his family and to children who looked up to him as a role model.

He's scheduled for release on July 20, 2009, and will serve three years of probation. The latest plea is important because it resolves the remaining charges against him, which is required under federal law if he is to move into a halfway house. He received a three-year suspended sentence Tuesday.

Vick was expressionless for most of the hearing, but did offer an apology.

"I want to apologize to the court, my family, and to all the kids who looked up to me as a role model," Vick told the judge.

Since the conviction, he has landed in bankruptcy court after losing nearly all of his record-breaking $130 million from a 10-year contract he signed with Atlanta in December 2004.

Surry County Circuit Judge Samuel Campbell did not allow Vick to make his plea by videoconference, saying intense public interest made his appearance necessary.

Under the plea deal, Vick agreed to plead guilty to one count of promoting dogfighting and not guilty to a count that involved cruelty to animals. Each state felony count was punishable by up to five years in prison.

"Any time in prison is hell. Michael's been punished. He knows what he did was wrong," Vick's lawyer Billy Martin said.

Meanwhile, the house at the center of the dogfighting ring has been put back on the auction block.

A listing on Motleys Auction and Realty Group's Web site says the five-bedroom house in Smithfield is scheduled to be auctioned on Dec. 15, with bids starting at $590,000.

Last December, developer Wilbur Ray Todd Jr. rejected a $747,000 bid for the property, which he had bought for $450,000, along with an additional $50,000 in improvements.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.