AJC > Sports > Columnists > Archives > 2007 > May > 25 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USFeds must expand their presence in Vick case
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Terence Moore
One moment, prosecutor Gerald Poindexter is saying there is evidence of dogfighting in the two-story house formerly owned by Falcons quarterback Michael Vick along the backroads of Virginia. The next, Poindexter is saying there might not be enough to file charges.
Now Poindexter is getting amnesia by saying he’s moving forward in the investigation.
Huh? The law folks in Surry County are doing their imitation of Mayberry R.F.D. regarding Vick’s possible role in illegal dogfighting. That’s why three things must happen for the sake of everybody, including Vick, who likely wants all of this to end sooner than later.
Come to think of it, one of those three things just happened: NFL commissioner Roger Goodell got heavily, but quietly, involved with the investigation this week, and he is no Barney Fife.
Here are the other two things that must happen: (1) More participation by the feds, and (2) those law folks around Surry County sending this dogfighting case to the state’s attorney office in Richmond. Sort of like Sheriff Andy Taylor deferring something larger than moonshining to the bigwigs in Raleigh.
Anyway, Goodell wants a conclusion to Vick’s latest controversy. Like now. The longer this goes unresolved, the more chances you have for an ugly trial that could expose a slew of NFL types under rocks with the lowlives of dogfighting. In recent years, Nate Newton was arrested for dogfighting, and LeShon Johnson was convicted. You also had Clinton Portis and Chris Samuels of the Washington Redskins giggling before cameras over Vick’s possible role in dogfighting, with Portis saying, “I don’t know if he was fighting dogs or not, but it’s his property, it’s his dog. If that’s what he wants to do, do it.”
The commissioner was not amused. Despite just months on the job, he banished Pacman Jones for a season after his various antics. When it comes to protecting the league’s image, Goodell means business. So he spent this week dispatching some of his former FBI agents, who serve as NFL security, to Surry County. Not only that, Goodell did so without waiting for an invitation, especially after the league made a couple of calls to local authorities that weren’t returned.
This is just a start. Now the feds must expand their presence in the case. Well, if they haven’t already.
Somebody from the U.S. Department of Agriculture met for two hours on Monday with those law folks around Surry County to review the evidence. Whether the feds just came to assist the local prosecutor, investigators and policemen isn’t known. The feds won’t say, which means there still is hope they’ll take over a case that is too much for Poindexter, a Commonwealth attorney who only works part time as prosecutor in a county of 7,000.
The crime is low around Poindexter’s portion of Hampton Roads, but the celebrity worshipping is high. In addition to Vick, other high-profile people from the area include Alonzo Mourning, Pernell Whitaker, Bruce Smith, Allen Iverson and D’Angelo Hall. So it’s enough to make the overwhelmed Poindexter a little cautious (as in too cautious) with an explosive case that could involve Vick and dogfighting, especially with Poindexter up for re-election at the end of the year.
Did Poindexter once say there might not be enough evidence in this case? Even Gomer and Goober would disagree with that. Along with damaged pit bulls among the 66 dogs found at Vick’s old home, there was a slew of dogfighting paraphernalia and blood splatters on the floor of a room above the garage. The AJC also has quoted dogfighting experts as saying others have been indicted, convicted and sentenced for much less. There is the case of Richmond’s Stacey A. Miller, for instance. He currently is facing up to four years in prison for dogfighting, and this is with 50 fewer dogs than the Vick case and without blood found on his property.
Authorities did discover a dead dog, which probably didn’t help Miller’s case, but you get the point. Those law folks around Surry County need help.
They’ve got the NFL, whether they like it or not, and they already may have the feds, and they should take our Richmond suggestion, just to make sure.
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