Hokies quarterback convicted, suspended

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Posted 8:29AM on Wednesday, August 4, 2004

NEW KENT, VIRGINIA - Virginia Tech quarterback Marcus Vick, suspended for the 2004 season because of run-ins with the law, pleaded guilty Tuesday to reckless driving and no contest to marijuana possession. Vick, 20, was fined $300 and his driver's license was suspended for 60 days for reckless driving in New Kent County last month. As part of a plea agreement, he was placed in a first offender program on the marijuana charge. Virginia Tech officials also suspended Vick from the university through the fall semester Tuesday because of the New Kent charges and his convictions in May on three counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Vick and two teammates were charged with giving alcohol to 14- and 15-year-old girls at the players' Montgomery County apartment. Vick, who was acquitted of a charge of having sex with one of the girls, was sentenced to 30 days in jail and fined $2,250. ``I have standing in front of me a young man with enormous potential,'' New Kent County General District Judge R. Bruce Long said in court Tuesday. However, he said Vick appeared to be ``on a self-destructive path to throwing that potential away.'' ``Am I wrong?'' Long asked Vick. Vick replied, ``Yes, sir.'' ``Are you going to prove me wrong?'' said the judge. Again, Vick replied, ``Yes, sir.'' Vick refused to answer reporters' questions outside the courthouse, but his lawyers distributed a written statement by their client. Vick apologized to family, friends, coaches and teammates and said he intends to return to Virginia Tech. ``I have learned a great deal from the mistakes I have made,'' the statement said. ``I will work hard to earn respect as an athlete and a person. I understand that I had a responsibility to conduct myself appropriately at all times and will work to do that. I am asking that Virginia Tech, and the other people who support me, not give up on me.'' Virginia Tech Coach Frank Beamer also issued a statement Tuesday, saying ``our full support will be with Marcus and his family as he works to get his personal life in order. Marcus Vick is a young man with a good heart who has made some poor decisions but still has an opportunity to have a bright future.'' The first offender program will require Vick to perform 24 hours of community service, undergo drug counseling and random drug tests, and give up his driver's license for an additional six months. Long ordered Vick to return to court on Aug. 9, 2005, to determine whether he has met all the requirements. The judge warned Vick that he would put in him jail if he fails to comply or gets in more trouble. The drug charge will be dismissed if Vick successfully completes the first-offender program, prosecutor Linwood Gregory said. The reckless driving charge carried a maximum $2,500 fine, 12-month jail term and six-month license suspension. In pleading no contest to the marijuana charge, Vick stipulated that the prosecution had enough evidence to convict him. The maximum he could have received for marijuana possession was a $500 fine and 30 days in jail. Vick was charged last month after an early morning traffic stop on Interstate 64 about 25 miles east of Richmond. The younger brother of Atlanta Falcons quarterback and former Hokies star Michael Vick was clocked on radar at 86 mph, 21 mph above the speed limit, state police said. The state trooper who stopped Vick, S.E. Ward, said in a written statement that Vick was driving a 2005 Chrysler 300 and was carrying $1,000 in cash. Ward said Vick told him he had just picked up the car from his brother, who bought it two days before. Ward said Vick initially denied having any marijuana in the car but admitted smoking some earlier in the day with some friends. However, a pat-down search turned up two small bags of marijuana in Vick's cargo shorts pocket, the trooper said. In the Montgomery County case, tailback Mike Imoh, 19, was sentenced to 10 days in jail and fined $750. Wide receiver Brenden Hill, 19, was sentenced to 20 days in jail and fined $1,500. Imoh and Hill were suspended for three games. Vick and his teammates are appealing their convictions to Montgomery County Circuit Court. Vick also was suspended for one game last season for a violation of team policy. He had been placed on indefinite suspension one month ago. Re-admittance to Virginia Tech is contingent upon Vick's successful completion of a drug education and counseling program. Athletic director Jim Weaver said in a news release that he told Vick any further criminal, athletic or university violations will result in Vick's permanent dismissal from Virginia Tech athletics. The suspension ``is a stiff penalty,'' said Virginia Tech President Charles Steger. ``Vick won't play this year and loses that year of eligibility. If there is any more trouble, his Virginia Tech career is effectively ended.'' Vick said in his written statement that ``I understand and respect the decisions and actions of the university. I will take this time to get my life back in order.'' Vick, a redshirt sophomore, was expected to challenge senior Bryan Randall for the quarterback's job this season after the two essentially shared the job last season.