A federal grand jury on Tuesday indicted Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick for his alleged role in a well-established dogfighting operation in Virginia, where breeders fought pit bulls for purses as high as $26,000 and some losing dogs were electrocuted, drowned, hanged or shot to death.
The NFL, where Vick is one of the highest-paid players, called the activities alleged in the indictment “cruel, degrading and illegal.”
Vick’s team also released a statement that said it was “disappointed” that one of its players “is being presented to the public in a negative way.”
“With today’s news, our club and team will continue to be tested as Michael works through the legal process toward a conclusion,” the Falcons statement said.
In addition to Vick, the 18-page federal indictment, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, also names three other defendants: Purnell Peace, 35, of Virginia Beach; Quanis Phillips, 28, of Atlanta; and Tony Taylor, 34, of Hampton, Va.
The Virginia federal court is expected to set an initial hearing date Wednesday, according to spokesman Jim Rybicki. That hearing likely will occur within the next two weeks.
Vick, 27, will not be arrested but will be issued a summons to appear at that initial hearing, Rybicki said. Neither Vick nor his lawyer, Larry Woodward, could be reached for comment. Vick has denied any involvement in dogfighting.
The grand jury charged that the dogs were trained, housed and fought at specifically designed locations on Vick’s Surry County property — five shelters, including a two-story garage in a wooded area behind a white brick, two-story estate home.
In at least two instances, in 2003 — no dates were specified, but Vick sat out much of that season with a foot injury — Vick traveled from Atlanta to South Carolina to participate in dogfights, according to the indictment.
The dogs that fared poorly, as well as those that didn’t perform well in test fights, met a cruel fate, the grand jury concluded.
“In or about April 2007,” the indictment said, “Peace, Phillips and Vick executed approximately eight dogs that did not perform well by various methods, including hanging, drowning and slamming at least one dog’s body to the ground.”
The men are all charged with conspiracy to travel in interstate commerce in aid of unlawful activities and to sponsor a dog in an animal fighting venture.
If convicted on the travel portion of the charge, each man faces up to five years in federal prison. If convicted on the animal fighting portion, each is looking at a year behind bars.
The NFL said it will review the matter under the league’s personal conduct policy. “We are disappointed that Michael Vick has put himself in a position where a federal grand jury has returned an indictment against him,” it said in a statement.
According to prosecutors, in June 2001, Vick paid $34,000 to purchase a property in Smithfield, Va. He and the three men formed a dogfighting enterprise that they named “Bad Newz Kennels.”
On Vick’s Web site, he lists his birthplace as Newport News, “a.k.a. BadNews.”
Starting the venture
The men set about purchasing dogs and puppies from several sellers, paying in one case about $1,000 for four pit bull puppies.
The men, aided by others, then made alterations to the property, such as erecting a fence to shield the back of the compound from public view.
The following year, in 2002, Peace and Vick “rolled” or tested some of the fighting dogs in short fighting matches, the indictment said.
That February, Peace killed a poor-performing pit bull by shooting it with a .22-caliber pistol. And as the months went on, all four defendants are accused of shooting dogs that didn’t live up to fighting standards.
Soon afterward, the defendants either hosted dogfights at the property or took their dogs to events. Page after page of the indictment details several fights involving dogs with names such as Seal, Maniac and Zebro.
Participants traveled to the property from South Carolina, North Carolina, Maryland, New York, Texas, Alabama and elsewhere.
The purse for each fight would range into the thousands of dollars, and each bout would last until one of the dogs died or limped away. A purse for one such fight was established at $13,000 per side, meaning that the winner took $26,000.
The fights followed strict rules, court documents show.
The competing dogs had to be of the same gender and could not vary in weight more than half a pound. They were bathed immediately before fights to make sure their coats were not “tainted” with a drug or poison that might hinder an opponent. Sometimes they were starved to make them more vicious.
“In or about March of 2003,” the indictment said, “Peace, after consulting with Vick about the losing female pit bull’s condition, executed the losing dog by wetting the dog down with water and electrocuting the animal.”
As late as April 2007, the four men continued fighting the dogs — “approximately 54 American Pit Bull Terriers, some of which had scars and injuries appearing to be related to dogfighting.” Investigators also found a ” ‘rape stand,’ a device in which a female dog who is too aggressive to submit to males for breeding is strapped down with her head held in place by a restraint,” the indictment said.
Raid led to indictment
Tuesday’s indictment of Vick stems in part from an April drug arrest involving Vick’s cousin, Davon Boddie, who listed his address on Moonlight Road in Surry County, Va., roughly 20 miles from Vick’s hometown of Newport News, Va.
When police went to the house with a search warrant, they found roughly 66 dogs, mainly pit bulls, and evidence to suggest dogfighting.
Federal authorities started their own investigation of the property in early June, digging up the grounds of the estate twice, and finding dog carcasses and other evidence.
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OTHER DETAILS IN THE INDICTMENT
– In the fall of 2003, a personwitnessing a dogfight involving one of the dogs trained by Bad Newz Kennels incurred the ire of another cooperating witness by yelling out Michael Vick’s name in front of the crowd during the fight.
– Vick and the others obtained shirts and headbands promoting their affiliation with the kennel.
– About eight young dogs were put to death at the Surry County home after they were found not ready to fight in April 2007.
— Associated Press
