Atlanta Falcons & pit bull terriers

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, November/December 2007:
SUSSEX, Virginia–Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael
Vick was on November 27, 2007 scheduled for a jury trial on April 2,
2008 in Surry County Circuit Court for two counts of felony
dogfighting.
The dogfighting charges, brought by the State of Virginia,
are separate from the federal conspiracy charge to which Vick pleaded
guilty on August 27, 2007.
Facing up to five years in prison for the federal conviction,
Vick voluntarily began serving time on November 19, in advance of
his scheduled December 10 sentencing.

Co-defendants Quanis L. Philips and Purnell A. Peace are to
be tried on the state charges on March 5. Co-defendant Tony Taylor
is to be tried on the state charges on May 7. All three pleaded
guilty to the same federal offense as Vick.
Forty-eight dogs seized from Vick’s property in April 2007,
most of them pit bull terriers, are now being offered for adoption
by organizations in Virginia, New York and California.
An unrelated felony cruelty charge filed against Atlanta
Falcons defensive tackle Jonathan Babineaux in February 2007 for
killing a pit bull terrier by swinging the dog on a leash was dropped
on November 7, 2007. The dog, named Kilo, belonged to Babineaux’s
girlfriend Blair Anderson. Babineaux testified that he was
protecting himself and his five-month-old child from dangerous
behavior by the pit bull, who according to Gwinnett County (Georgia)
district attorney Danny Porter had a history of unprovoked attacks.
Babineaux and Ander-son had quarreled earlier, and Anderson was out
of the house when the incident occurred.