Guilty plea to state charge puts Vick closer to freedom

SUSSEX, Va. — With a steady gaze and another apology, Michael Vick took an important step toward returning to pro football. The former star quarterback pleaded guilty to a state dogfighting charge Tuesday, and the prosecutor dropped an animal cruelty count. Surry Circuit Judge Samuel Campbell accepted the deal and gave Vick a suspended three-year sentence — far less than the maximum 10-year term he could have faced. The move clears the way for Vick’s possible transition to a halfway house and brings his aim of another chance at professional football closer. “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. Vick was temporarily brought back to Virginia from Leavenworth, Kan., where he is serving a 23-month sentence after pleading guilty to bankrolling a dogfighting operation. In the federal case, Vick admitted helping kill six to eight pit bulls that did not perform well in test fights. He is scheduled for release on July 20 and will serve three years of probation. He also has been suspended by the NFL and would need commissioner Roger Goodell’s approval before rejoining the league. Vick’s 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. The gruesome details of Vick’s involvement with dogfighting prompted a public backlash against the once-popular Atlanta Falcons quarterback and outraged animal-rights groups, which used the case to call attention to the brutality of dogfighting. Vick, 28, was stoic throughout the approximately 20-minute hearing. Afterward, he turned to his young daughter and winked. Once the highest-paid player in the NFL, Vick appeared about as trim Tuesday as when he entered prison a year ago. His lawyer, Billy Martin, said Vick’s legal team hasn’t been involved in any preliminary steps to revive the suspended player’s career, focusing instead on reuniting him with his family. Atlanta still has Vick under contract. But Falcons owner Arthur Blank made clear late last month the three-time Pro Bowl selection won’t wear that team’s uniform again.