By LINDA MCNATT
SURRY COUNTY, VIRGINIA
Before local Commonwealth's Attorney Gerald Poindexter asked a grand jury this week to indict suspended Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick on local dogfighting charges, critics had been saying for months that he was dragging his feet.
When Poindexter got the local indictments Tuesday, other critics questioned whether the prosecutor had acted too harshly. Should both state and federal charges be filed against Vick?
Still others are wondering whether Poindexter, the part-time Commonwealth's Attorney since 1995, acted out of desperation to save his job because he felt political opposition biting at his heels, something he hasn't had since 1999.
"I believe it was politically motivated," said Michael Eggleston, a School Board candidate in the local elections. "He fumbled around until the feds moved in. Since then, he's made excuses and smart remarks on the TV news."
Six weeks into the local investigation at the property owned by Newport News native Vick, Poindexter refused to allow sheriff's deputies to search the property, and federal authorities moved in. The following month, a federal grand jury had indicted the former Virginia Tech star and three of his associates. The four men would eventually plead guilty to a conspiracy charge in a case that dominated the sports world all summer.
Since then, Poindexter has made conflicting statements about his plans. He said in July that he was going to seek charges. Then he said federal officials had possession of all the evidence and that maybe, by September, he would seek indictments.
Linda Malone, who teaches criminal law at the Marshall-Wythe School of Law at the College of William and Mary, said Poindexter did exactly what he should have done last week.
The grand jury, which meets every other month and would not have met again before November's election, indicted Vick on charges of dogfighting and inhumane treatment of animals. Vick's federal conspiracy plea is different from the local charges, Malone said.
One has to do with planning to commit the act; the other is the act itself, Malone said.
Poindexter said he's never going to make everybody happy, and he denies that he felt any political pressure to seek local indictments. He said he think s his opposition is trying to oust him because he's black.
His opponent is white.
Historically, the political system of Surry County, with about 7,000 residents, has been divided by race. About the time Poindexter came to Surry County, in 1972, a local civil rights movement sparked voting registration drives for black residents, and the Board of Supervisors went from all white members to predominantly black.
Poindexter says the racial divisiveness is still there. He points to a stack of nasty letters he's received accusing him of protecting Vick because he's black.
But his opponent, Ed Vaughn, said race is not the issue.
"I've been welcomed - and I believe I have support from black and white, young and old, male and female," he said.
Poindexter said he's been working on the charges against Vick and his associates for months and didn't know anything about political opposition until he got an e-mail that probably wasn't meant for him.
It was an invitation to a party, a "meet and greet" for a candidate for sheriff in the upcoming election.
That's when Poindexter said he first learned that not only was longtime Sheriff Harold Brown going to have competition in November, but he'd have an opponent, too.
The party was for sheriff candidate J.C. "Jim" Judkins, a county native and retired U.S. Army Lt. Col. But the party wasn't just for him. Judkins, who is on the ballot, was bringing Vaughn along to face off against Poindexter as a write-in candidate.
Vaughn is an Ashland lawyer and former commonwealth's attorney in Hanover County.
Few in Surry had even heard of Vaughn, said Melissa Cudney, who operates a beauty shop in the village of Surry.
"Jim Judkins brought him to the party and introduced him," said Cudney. "It was a pleasant surprise " that Poindexter now has an opponent, she said.
The ballots already have been printed, and Vaughn's name isn't on them, said county registrar Lucille Epps. But he's rented a home in Surry County and isn't required to be a permanent resident unless he's elected in November, Epps said.
Vaughn said the election is about the state of the county's judicial system.
"I've sensed a tremendous groundswell of unhappiness with the criminal justice system in Surry," Vaughn said. "And it doesn't have to do so much with the recent case of Michael Vick."
Poindexter said he's done nothing wrong in the Vick case, which has sho ne a national spotlight on him. He's been very careful, he admits, after another dogfighting prosecution several years ago ended in a legal technicality and no charges. All along, he said, he intended to bring local charges against Vick, who is facing up to five years in prison in the federal case.
When federal investigators raided Vick's property in June and seized the evidence, the Surry prosecutor said, the local investigation was put on hold because the evidence was gone. Poindexter said he recently reached an agreement with federal officials to share evidence.
Vick could face another 10 years behind bars if he's found guilty of state charges.
He will be arraigned next week in Sussex County, where Surry courts are meeting because of work being done on the local courthouse.
Staff writer Dave Forster contributed to this report.
