Bad Newz Kennels
Over seventy dogs, mostly pit bull terriers, with some said to be showing signs of injuries, were seized, along with physical evidence during several searches of Vick's 15-acre (61,000 m2) property by local, state and federal authorities.
Over 70 dogs, mostly pit bull terriers, with some said to be showing signs of injuries, were seized along with physical evidence during several searches of Vick's 15-acre (61,000 m2) property by local, state and federal authorities.
"[7] At the time of the November 30 hearings for Peace and Phillips, Vick was being held at Northern Neck Regional Jail in Warsaw, Virginia where he had turned himself in early while awaiting sentencing on the federal convictions on December 10, 2007.
[8] Vick received a harsher sentence than Peace and Phillips after Hudson concluded that the suspended Atlanta Falcons quarterback lied about his direct involvement in killing dogs and about his marijuana use, which was detected in a drug test, as well as his greater role in the criminal enterprise and lesser cooperation during the earlier investigation.
[13] In the following several months, various media sources revealed that Vick had close ties and business relationships with three other men who were apparently not his relatives but were involved with the Surry County property and/or his activities with pit bulls prior to April 25.
[15] ESPN reported that, very shortly after the initial raid in late April, Vick "threw Taylor off the Surry property" and listed it with real estate agents for sale.
[16][17] During the subsequent weeks, Surry County Sheriff Harold D. Brown and Commonwealth's Attorney (local prosecutor) Gerald G. Poindexter repeatedly responded to media inquiries with assurances that they were proceeding carefully with the investigation and any prosecutions and that anyone "whoever they are" who evidence indicates had acted unlawfully will be charged.
He alleged a conspiracy by authorities dating from 2001, claiming the amount of marijuana he admits having on April 20 was not justification for the search warrant of his Surry County residence, an opinion local prosecutors from several different jurisdictions took strong objection to, according to the Daily Press on June 8.
Surry County Commonwealth's Attorney Poindexter told USA Today that an official of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Office of the Inspector General, notifying him by telephone about 3 PM EDT on June 7, also advised him that the local authorities loved what he did, but were free to continue their own ongoing investigation.
Documents filed in federal court in Richmond on July 2 and obtained by the Associated Press under the Freedom of Information Act outline an extensive multi-state dog fighting enterprise named "Bad Newz Kennels" which was allegedly operating from the Vick property since at least 2002.
[citation needed] The federal court filings of July 2 alleged that Vick's property was used as the "main staging area for housing and training the pit bulls involved in the dog fighting venture".
[24] According to an ESPN attorney, a new "tough" federal law passed by the U.S. Congress in April 2007 and signed by President George W. Bush on May 3, 2007, was being used in many ongoing investigations of dog fighting around the country.
[34] USA Today reported that all four defendants were released without bond, but among the pre-trial conditions imposed on Vick by U.S. Magistrate Dennis Dohnal in a separate hearing held the same day was that he surrender any dog breeding or kennel licenses he may have.
All four defendants were required to be under active supervision of the court, surrender their passports, refrain from travel outside their immediate area without prior approval, and stay away from dogs, guns, and each other.
The terms of his bail theoretically left Vick free to play until the trial, provided he got permission from the court to travel outside the immediate area of his primary residence.
[40] According to The Washington Post, in the "Summary of the Facts" filed along with the plea and signed by Taylor, he admitted that he helped start "Bad Newz Kennels" with Vick and two other co-defendants in 2001 and participated fully in the enterprise before leaving in September 2004 after a disagreement with Phillips "and others".
It also says Vick paid more than $30,000 to purchase the property near Smithfield, Virginia,[41] where the house and outbuildings for training fighting dogs were built as the home of Bad Newz Kennels.
[42] The Norfolk Virginian-Pilot newspaper noted that Taylor's plea document described eight matches that he says Vick attended or sponsored between late 2002 and 2004, with dogs named Jane, Big Boy, Zebro, Magic, Tiny and Too Short.
On August 17, Vick's other two co-defendants, Peace and Phillips, had also agreed to plead guilty under their own plea agreements during consecutive hearings in judge Hudson's court.
[45] News media reported widely that Vick had been given until that date (August 17) to decide whether to seek a plea bargain; otherwise, he would face a superseding indictment that would include at least two more federal charges.
Peace and Phillips were told that because of the "victimization and execution of pit bull dogs" described in court filings, "upward departure" from the sentencing guidelines is "necessary in this case".
[49] The documents filed with the court and obtained by the news media under the provisions of the U.S. Freedom of Information Act provided confirmation of portions of that contained in Taylor's earlier plea agreement and also gave more detail of co-defendant Vick's roles.
Copies were made available by the Newport News Daily Press at: Co-defendant Quanis Phillips was incarcerated earlier after his August 17 plea hearing because he had failed drug tests with monitoring equipment and regulations already in place.
[53]On August 24, 2007, it was announced that Vick had signed a plea agreement and issued a statement admitting his participation and funding of the dogfighting ring but maintaining that he did not place any bets or take any prize money.
Part-time Commonwealth's Attorney Gerald G. Poindexter and Sheriff Harold D. Brown in the county had been criticized for slowness, particularly by the investigative news reports of WAVY-TV, the NBC affiliate in Hampton Roads.
Both Brown and Poindexter told news media that they were taken aback by the level of detail in the indictments, especially mention of dogs allegedly being executed by hanging, drowning and electrocution.
Over 50 dogs were seized, in addition to carcasses recovered, and a number of the interstate fight events, all with attendant gambling activities, were allegedly hosted at Vick's Surry County estate.
In a statement released by Valparaiso University, she said: "As someone whose academic endeavors focus on the legal status and value of animals in our lives, I am honored to represent the interests of those at the heart of this case, the dogs.
Stephon Marbury, a point guard for the New York Knicks, called dogfighting a sport and compared it to hunting and said that a similar reaction does not occur when other animals die.
"[80][failed verification] During the furor arising around the Bad Newz Kennels investigation and prosecutions, even such diverse notables as hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons and the Reverend Al Sharpton joined with the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and PETA – People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals in calling for strong stands against animal cruelty, jointly stating: Today, we sound a clarion call to all people: Stand up for what is right, and speak out against what is wrong.
