Vick heading home, where slew of media awaits

On his first day of freedom in 21 months, Michael Vick was confined to a car seat as he made a 1,200-mile road trip to his home in Hampton, Va.

The suspended Atlanta Falcons quarterback avoided a media circus in Leavenworth, Kan., when he and his traveling party slipped away from the federal penitentiary undetected at 5 a.m. Atlanta time. He’s unlikely to accomplish that upon his arrival at his five-bedroom house, where he’ll serve two months of home confinement to complete a 23-month dogfighting sentence.

A slew of media vehicles are parked at the cul-de-sac neighborhood, awaiting Vick’s arrival, which was expected to be a few hours before dawn.

Vick’s legal team spokesman, Chris Garrett, told the assembled media on Wednesday afternoon that Vick, his fiancee, Kijafa Frink, a videographer and his security team are en route. The reason for having a videographer on the journey was not disclosed.

At 11 p.m., the house was lit up as members of Vick’s family arrived through the afternoon and evening.

Outside the home, the camped-out media were occasionally joined by curious neighbors and gawkers. In the afternoon a local bail bondsman, Vince Rera, exited his car — with a leashed pit bull in hand — and placed several envelopes into Vick’s mailbox.

He claimed to be delivering information about his service after corresponding with Vick’s legal team and family, but offered no details on any specific arrangement.

“Let’s say someone says, ‘Michael hit me, Michael hurt me, Michael did this,’” Rera said. “If he gets picked up on something stupid, he has a right to bail.”

Garrett said he wasn’t aware of Rera or his services.

Vick was released from the penitentiary before dawn. He and his fiancee initially drove to a hotel about half an hour away, the Daily Press of Newport News, Va., reported.

“It’s a happy day for him to be starting this part of the process,” said Larry Woodward, Vick’s Virginia-based attorney. “He looks forward to meeting the challenges he has to meet.”

Vick’s ultimate goal is to rehabilitate his image following his dogfighting conviction and return to the NFL, but Woodward said the former quarterback’s first priority “is spending time with his children and his loved ones.”

Last month, Vick testified that he is changed man ready to take charge of his finances, but a judge rejected Vick’s plan to emerge from bankruptcy. One of Vick’s proposed income sources was an offer to star in a documentary for $600,000. It was unclear whether the videographer is involved in that proposed documentary.

Falcons owner Arthur Blank reaffirmed Wednesday that although his franchise owns Vick’s contractual rights, “he will not be playing for us in the future. In the event NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell decides to reinstate Michael to the NFL, we feel his best opportunity to re-engage his football career would be at another club.”

Vick’s longtime agent, Joel Segal, was one of the first people to talk to him after his release.

“Mike is really looking forward to reuniting with his family, kids, Kijafa and his mom,” Segal said. “He’s just real excited about that.”

On Haywagon Trail in Hampton, six satellite trucks and a dozen cars lined the cul-de-sac adjacent to Vick’s home. Frances Fuller, 57, an animal lover who lives on a nearby farm, said she feels disgusted to live so close to Vick.

“I don’t even feel like living in Hampton anymore — that’s how adamant I am about him being here, and I’ve lived here all my life,” she said. “I hope when he comes here that he’s not as comfortable as he thinks he’s going to be.”

Hampton police are not providing any special security for Vick, Cpl. Allison Quinones said. No special patrols are planned other than those already deployed, but officers will respond to complaints if neighbors have problems with traffic or crowds leading up to Vick’s return, she added.

Police did advise Vick’s neighbors that the media would descend on their street and stay there until Vick’s arrival, Quinones said.

One Vick supporter, 52-year-old Anton Williams arrived with a video camera and said he plans on sticking around until Vick gets there, which looks to be in the pre-dawn hours of Thursday.

“I feel that he served his time,” said Williams as he filmed the throng of cameras, satellite trucks and reporters posted in front of Vick’s home on a brisk, but sun-drenched afternoon. “Everyone does wrong, but he did his time and it’s over with. I hope they get him back in the NFL.”

Robert Boyd, a resident in Vick’s neighborhood, rode his bike through the maze of satellite trucks, cameras and media personnel. Boyd said he was indifferent to the quarterback living nearby.

“I just came down here to see how much media activity was going on,” said Boyd, 62. “I was never a big Vick fan. I mean, he was an exciting player — he brought a lot of pizzazz to the field — but I never had a big opinion one way or the other.

“When (Vick plead guilty to dog fighting charges), it was what it was. It wasn’t a good thing — cruelty to animals, using animals — but he’s paid his dues and he deserves a chance to make a living and live his life now.”

Around 11 p.m. a group of about 15 onlookers arrived. Most were neighborhood teens and young adults inspecting the media camp.

Among the spectators were Melanie Caldwell, 19, and Kelli Pires, 18, both of Hampton. The friends arrived together even though Caldwell is a Vick supporter and Pires said she thinks Vick should be permanently banned from the NFL.

“I’m not here to protest or anything, I just don’t think he should be allowed to play again,” Pires said. “I think if you do something that’s harsh enough that they’ll put you in jail for it, and you’re a role model for America, you need to watch what you do and you shouldn’t be allowed back into the NFL, because that says that the NFL supports dog fighting.”

Caldwell offered a drastically different opinion.

“He didn’t kill a person, he killed a dog,” Caldwell said. “I understand it’s sad, but I just don’t think it’s that serious. He was suspended, he went to jail, now let him play.”

Vick is scheduled to meet with his probation officer on Friday, his lawyer Woodward said. The Daily Press reported Vick likely will begin a $10-an-hour construction job a week from Wednesday.

In addition to the home confinement, Vick will serve three years of supervised probation. Vick’s attorneys have approached the Humane Society of the United States about working on a program aimed at eradicating dogfighting among urban teens.

In August 2007, Vick pleaded guilty for his role in a dogfighting operation and surrendered to federal marshals on Nov. 19 of that year.

Vick is currently suspended by the NFL, and the Falcons are seeking to trade his contractual rights. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell says Vick’s potential re-instatement will depend on his level of remorsefulness.

“I think that’s going to be up to Michael,” Goodell said Tuesday at the NFL meetings in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. “Michael’s going to have to demonstrate to myself and the general public and to a lot of people, did he learn anything from this experience? Does he regret what happened? Does he feel that he can be a positive influence going forward? Those are questions that I would like to see when I sit with him.”

No meeting is expected until after Vick completes home confinement.

— The Associated Press and correspondent John Streit in Hampton, Va., contributed to this report.