Troubles Mount For Vick

It just keeps getting worse for Michael Vick.

There was no word Friday morning on whether Vick had agreed to a plea agreement with federal prosecutors -- or whether the embattled Atlanta Falcons quarterback would take on the federal government in a jury trial on dogfighting charges.

Vick, who has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him, was widely reported to be considering a deal. His attorneys were still negotiating with federal prosecutors as of Thursday, hoping to strike a deal on a plea agreement.

A report in The Virginian-Pilot of Norfolk said federal prosecutors had offered Vick a plea deal that would recommend he serve at least one year in prison on a felony dogfighting conspiracy charge, while a story in The New York Times said the lawyers for the Falcons' quarterback were advising him to accept a deal.

Vick's two remaining co-defendants, Purnell Peace, 35, of Virginia Beach, and Quanis Phillips, 28, of Atlanta, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Richmond on Friday morning. It had been expected that Vick would make a decision before the two men entered guilty pleas. A third co-defendant, Tony Taylor of Hampton, pleaded guilty to the charges facing him last month and will be sentenced Dec. 14.

A grand jury is expected to convene Monday to consider additional charges in a superseding indictment against Vick, including racketeering charges. Racketeering charges would increase the prison time and financial penalties Vick would face were he to be convicted.

Peace and Phillips were charged with conspiracy to travel in interstate commerce in aid of unlawful activities and conspiring to sponsor a dog in an animal fighting venture. Sentencing for the two was scheduled for Nov. 30.

Phillips and Peace, in the statement of facts which accompanied their pleas, admitted to killing approximately eight dogs who did not perform well in testing sessions by hanging and drowning them just days before federal authorities first raided Virginia property owned by Vick in April. The indictment of Vick says that property was used for dogfighting.

According to sources, Vick, Peace and Phillips initially hanged all of the dogs in the woods behind Vick's house but at least three dogs survived the hanging attempt. Subsequently, Vick, Peace and Phillips submerged the surviving dogs' heads in five gallon buckets filled with water until they drowned.

While Peace was freed, Phillips violated the terms of his release by failing a drug test and was taken into custody of U.S. marshals.

Collins R. Spencer III, spokesman for Vick's five-member defense team, declined to comment Thursday. Vick is scheduled to go to trial Nov. 26.

Rough calculations based on what is known in Vick's case indicate that a guideline range of eight to 12 months "would not be unrealistic," said Benjamin's law partner, Betty Layne Desportes. The charges -- conspiracy to travel in interstate commerce in aid of unlawful activities and conspiring to sponsor a dog in an animal fighting venture -- carry a maximum prison term of five years and a $250,000 fine.

According to the statement signed by Taylor as part of his plea agreement, Vick financed virtually all of the "Bad Newz Kennels" dogfighting enterprise on Vick's property in Surry County, Va.

Taylor's statement and the July 17 indictment also linked Vick to betting on the dogfights, which could result in a lifetime ban from the NFL under the league's policy against gambling. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has barred Vick from the Falcons' training camp but has withheld further action until the league completes its own investigation.