Vick to enter guilty plea in Va. court Tuesday

Michael Vick is back in Virginia where he will enter a guilty plea in Surry County Circuit Court Tuesday on state dogfighting charges.

In a plea agreement already signed, Vick will receive a three-year suspended prison term and a $2,500 fine. The fine will be suspended if Vick pays court costs and maintains good behavior for four years.

On Thursday, the Falcons quarterback was transported from Leavenworth, Kansas, where he is serving a 23-month federal sentence on felony charges related to dogfighting. He is currently in Hopewell Regional Jail. Superintendent Darnley Hodge told the Associated Press that Vick is being held in protective custody, isolated from the jail’s 1,200 inmates to avoid disruptions but is being treated like any other prisoner.

If Vick, who is scheduled to be released from federal prison July 20, 2009, can resolve his state case, he would become eligible to participate in the Federal Bureau of Prisons re-entry program. That might include entry into a halfway house for up to six months. Vick cannot serve a portion of his sentence in a halfway house until he has resolved the pending state charges.

Vick tried last month to enter his guilty plea by two-way electronic video. His motion was denied resulting in Tuesday’s hearing.

“This has been a long and very difficult road for Michael,” Vick’s attorney Billy Martin told the AJC last month. “He has been incarcerated for over a year and hopes to bring closure to this case.”