Vick - Search Warrant Issued but not executed

[Hoofbite]

http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/6857960

In a news release, Sheriff Harold D. Brown said the warrant issued May 23 has not been executed at the request of Brown and Surry County Commonwealth's Attorney Gerald G. Poindexter. The release did not say why the two officials leading the investigation into possible dog fighting on the 15-acre property made the request.


Brown was not in the office and is the only member of the sheriff's department who can comment on the case, a dispatcher said Tuesday. Poindexter also was out of the office and did not return a message left by The Associated Press seeking comment.


No charges have been filed, but Poindexter has said he is confident when sufficient evidence is gathered, it will be brought before a special grand jury.


The warrant is based on investigator W.R. Brinkman being told by an informant that seven pit bulls were destroyed on the property in Surry County and buried in shallow graves two days before a drug raid on April 25. It cites "reliable sources" as saying that as many as 30 dogs are buried in various locations on the property, much of which is surrounded by a black fence and secluded behind a massive two-story brick home.


A copy of the warrant was provided to the AP by The Virginian-Pilot of Norfolk.


The document gives investigators permission to search for pit bull terrier/fighting dog carcasses on the grounds and in buildings behind the black privacy fence in the rear of the home, which Vick has claimed he rarely visited. The Atlanta Falcons quarterback put the home up for sale shortly after the dog fighting investigation began and sold it the first day, but it is unclear whether the sale has been completed.


The warrant also allows authorities to search "all outbuildings which have blood-covered wood floors or walls" for anything that could be used in the killing of animals - including ropes, guns, rifles, spent shotgun shells, spent bullet cartridges, shovels and "any and all evidence contributing to dog fighting and animal cruelty."


Police raided the home as part of a drug investigation. They seized 66 dogs, 55 of them pit bulls, and a variety of equipment that could be associated with dog fighting.


While items such as treadmills and syringes seized could be typical of a legitimate breeding operation, which Vick is registered to have, items like a "pry bar" used to pry apart a dog's jaws, and bloodstained carpeting raised dog fighting suspicions.


A native of Newport News who starred at Virginia Tech, Vick has blamed family members at the home for taking advantage of his generosity. He claimed he didn't know a large kennel on the property could be involved in criminal activity.

How horrific.

 

[FuzzyLumpkins]

i realize everyone is going to be ooohing and aaahing saying that vick is in real trouble now but before you all get into that just ask yourself how animal corpses found on the property are going to incriminate Vick.

 

[Yeagermeister]

i realize everyone is going to be ooohing and aaahing saying that vick is in real trouble now but before you all get into that just ask yourself how animal corpses found on the property are going to incriminate Vick.

A vet can do a necropsy too see how they died.

 

[sago1]

Don't recall how long Vick has owned that property. If police find an excessive amount of dog carcasses on the property & approx length of time they've been dead, police should be able track Vick's whereabouts enough to put him at the scene at least once. Sure like to know whose the source.

 

[big dog cowboy]

This whole thing seems like it will drag on through the summer. When will it ever end??????

 

[burmafrd]

Isn't it fun to watch the Vick defenders desperately try and refute all of the mounting evidence?

 

[LatinMind]

A vet can do a necropsy too see how they died.

that and theres such a thing called a bite wound. usually these dogs end up with chips on the bone. as they get mangled. especially around the head. and the skin is so thin in that area, it would be quite easy to tell, and to convict whoever was involved. proving that vick had anything to do with it, will be much harder then proving how the dogs died.

 

[CrazyCowboy]

This story has new twists daily.

 

[Hoofbite]

that and theres such a thing called a bite wound. usually these dogs end up with chips on the bone. as they get mangled. especially around the head. and the skin is so thin in that area, it would be quite easy to tell, and to convict whoever was involved. proving that vick had anything to do with it, will be much harder then proving how the dogs died.

I was thinking the same with the bite marks and such.

 

[Doomsday101]

i realize everyone is going to be ooohing and aaahing saying that vick is in real trouble now but before you all get into that just ask yourself how animal corpses found on the property are going to incriminate Vick.

One it would show that the informant was telling the truth to investigators. I love how you bend over backwards to these idiots. Sorry to tell you football is not the most important thing in life and these guys can't just do what they want because they can run with a ball in their hands.

 

[joseephuss]

One it would show that the informant was telling the truth to investigators.

If they do find dogs buried it will show that this particular informant had shared good information. I don't know if this is the same informant that is claiming that Vick was on the property. It may be a different one and he may have more information to share with authorities. He will become more credible if they do execute the warrant and find these dog graves.

I have always maintained a wait and see approach to this case with Vick. The more information that comes out could clear him or make it worse for him. It is looking like the latter.

 

[Faerluna]

Here a link to a good SI article on the issue. It's 7 pages, so I won't copy, but here's the first 2 paragraphs and the related picture.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/football/nfl/05/29/vick0604/index.html

****************************************

The House on Moonlight Road

Though Michael Vick insists he knew nothing of alleged dogfighting on a Virginia property he owned, the case has cast a shadow over the star quarterback, alarmed the NFL and called attention to pro athletes' involvement in the grisly pastime

Posted: Tuesday May 29, 2007 9:22AM; Updated: Tuesday May 29, 2007 12:51PM


The brick house Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick owned on Moonlight Road in rural Smithfield, Va., is painted white. It has a white door, a white fence and a huge white gate that opens on a spare front lawn holding a white birdbath. In the woods behind the house, out of view from the road, stand five smaller buildings. These are painted black -- not gray or charcoal, but pure black, as if they'd been dipped in ink. They are set off from the house by a fence, also painted black.

Kathy Strouse, an animal control officer, was standing in front of those outbuildings as night fell on April 25 when a simple question came to her: Why the black paint? A moment passed before Strouse had an answer. At night, when most dogfights are held, no one would know these buildings were here.

 

[Doomsday101]

If they do find dogs buried it will show that this particular informant had shared good information. I don't know if this is the same informant that is claiming that Vick was on the property. It may be a different one and he may have more information to share with authorities. He will become more credible if they do execute the warrant and find these dog graves.

I have always maintained a wait and see approach to this case with Vick. The more information that comes out could clear him or make it worse for him. It is looking like the latter.

I agree with you.

 

[Concord]

i realize everyone is going to be ooohing and aaahing saying that vick is in real trouble now but before you all get into that just ask yourself how animal corpses found on the property are going to incriminate Vick.

Are you related to Vick?

Holy bejeezzus you're unbelivable.

 

[Big Dakota]

FANCLUB OF THE NOTORIOUS ***. Up. Zeros.

 

[ThreeSportStar80]

Enough with all the articles, if Mike Vick took part in these alleged acts of disgust then he will be delt with accordingly. I would prefer to talk about something positive for a change.

 

[Faerluna]

Enough with all the articles, if Mike Vick took part in these alleged acts of disgust then he will be delt with accordingly. I would prefer to talk about something positive for a change.

Yea, lets talk more about Tony and Carrie!!

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I kid, I kid.

 

[BlueStar22]

Isn't it fun to watch the Vick defenders desperately try and refute all of the mounting evidence?

all circumstantial

 

[Big Dakota]

Yea, lets talk more about Tony and Carrie!!

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I kid, I kid.

I like the whole "giving people herpes intentionally" topic

 

[Big Dakota]

all circumstantial

If the glove don't fit........