Tuesday, Michael Vick, as well as his co-defendants, was indicted on State charges for the dogfighting scandal.
The Surry County grand jury brought two charges against Vick: one count of unlawfully torturing and killing dogs and one of promoting dogfights. Each is a felony charge that could result in a five-year prison term
These charges are in addition to the federal charges that he already pled guilty to (sentencing on those charges are scheduled for Dec. 10). Of course, both sides have something to say:
Vick’s lawyers said they will “aggressively” work to make sure “that he is not held accountable for the same conduct twice.” “We are disappointed that these charges were filed in Surry County, since it is the same conduct covered by the federal indictment for which Mr. Vick has already accepted full responsibility and pleaded guilty to in U.S. District Court in Richmond, Virginia,” his lead attorney, Billy Martin, said in a statement issued Tuesday afternoon.
and then:
(Surry County Commonwealth Attorney Gerald) Poindexter said he pursued the case because “crimes that were not prosecuted were committed in Surry County.” But he would not say whether his prosecutors put Vick’s federal court admission that he killed dogs before the grand jury.
Well, if that did not ruin his day, he seemed to forget that doing drugs will not make his life better. Now he has tested positive for marijuana.
Because of the result, U.S. District Judge Henry Hudson placed special conditions on Vick’s release, including restricting him to his home between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. and ordering him to submit to random drug testing.Vick was placed under pretrial release supervision by U.S. Magistrate Dennis Dohnal in July. His restrictions included refraining from use or unlawful possession of narcotic drugs or other controlled substances.Hudson’s order on Wednesday also requires Vick to participate in inpatient or outpatient substance therapy and mental health counseling, if the pretrial services officer or supervising officer deem it appropriate. Vick must pay for the treatment.
And now another twist has surfaced in all of this. There appears to possibly be a murder thrown into all of this. This blog has an interesting story about it. In April, Roy “Bud” Melton was shot to death execution style at his North Carolina home. During the investigation, evidence of ties to Bad Newz Kennels surfaced, along with dogs, equipment and documentation. This blog also has another interesting story about this, about “who” the murder victim could be.
Maybe people will one day learn to take pet ownership a bit more seriously, huh?
Vick indicted on state dogfighting charges
Vick charged with torturing, killing dogs in Virginia indictment
Vick Fails Drug Test, Confined To Home
Vick’s Woes
More troubles: Vick positive for marijuana
Michael Vick Tests Positive for Marijuana
Campaign to Sack Michael Vick - an interesting blog - seems to keep up very well with all of the news
Vick dogfighting ring investigated for murder ties
New Leads to Murder Mystery that Connects Vick to N.C. Dog Fighting
My first post on Michael Vick in my sports blog
