A co-defendant running to the prosecutor faster than Michael Vick
This AP article and this Atlanta Journal-Constitution article details that one of Michael Vick’s co-defendant appears poised to plead guilty to the dog fighting charges that have derailed the NFL star’s football career. Here are a few details from the AJC piece:
One of the men facing federal dogfighting charges along with Falcons quarterback Michael Vick is discussing a plea deal with federal prosecutors, which could spell bad news for Vick. Tony Taylor, 34, of Hampton, Va., has a plea agreement hearing scheduled for 9 a.m. Monday in the U.S. District Court in Richmond before Judge Henry E. Hudson….
The plea hearing could mean that Taylor, who pleaded not guilty to the charges Thursday, has agreed to cooperate with federal prosecutors…. “This could be very bad news for Vick,” said Steven D. Benjamin, a veteran criminal defense attorney from Richmond who has represented many clients before Hudson. “If he is pleading guilty, he is cooperating with the government.”
Taylor could get a lighter sentence through a plea deal. “Whoever is the first in line gets the best deal,” said Michael Morchower, a former federal prosecutor and now a Richmond criminal defense attorney who has also represented defendants before Hudson. “That’s the problem with co-defendants. They are going to want to save themselves. And the government wants cooperation. And the person who cooperates first gets the biggest reward.”
Covering similar ground is this Virginian-Pilot article, headlined “Co-defendant’s plea deal a bad sign for Vick, experts say.”
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