Man wounded in shooting after Beach party for Michael Vick
Quanis Phillips, co-defendant in Michael Vick's dogfighting case, was taken to a hospital.
Kathy Adams
The Virginian-Pilot
June 26, 2010
VIRGINIA BEACH
According to guests, hosts and a representative of Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick, the Newport News native came and went from his 30th birthday bash at the Town Center Guadalajara restaurant overnight Thursday without conflict.
But shortly after his departure from the soiree early Friday, tempers flared and shots were fired around the corner from the club, leaving a man with at least one gunshot wound to his leg. Police declined to say who was shot.
Quanis Phillips, a childhood friend of Vick's who was a co-defendant with the football player during his dogfighting trial, ended up in a hospital.
Phillips checked into Virginia Beach General Hospital and was discharged around 3 p.m., said Sentara spokesman Dale Gauding. He would not disclose whether Phillips had been shot.
Shalamar Davis, 29, who attended the party, said she recognized the shooting victim as Phillips.
"His friends were dragging him around the corner and blood was everywhere," she said.
When officers arrived at Guadalajara, the shooting victim was no longer at the scene, police said. He'd been taken in a vehicle, which a Virginia State Police trooper pulled over on Columbus Street near the intersection of Independence Boulevard, according to a police news release. An ambulance then took him to a hospital.
Investigators have made no arrests and say witnesses to the shooting have refused to talk. Vick is not a suspect and "his name has come up nowhere in any of our investigative reports," said Officer Jimmy Barnes, a police spokesman.
Police have described the shooter only as a black male wearing a white tank top and driving a white Cadillac Escalade.
Vick and Phillips are on state and federal probation from 2007 and 2008 dogfighting convictions. Phillips cooperated with prosecutors in their case against Vick, signing papers saying the quarterback had helped kill eight pit bulls that performed poorly in fights. He was released from federal prison on Feb. 20, 2009, after serving 21 months. Vick was released from prison in May that year.
Under the terms of their probation, both men are prohibited from associating with felons unless granted permission by a probation officer. They're also required to notify their probation officers within 72 hours of being questioned by law enforcement.
A source close to Vick said Phillips was not invited to the party. Officials within the court system and several defense lawyers said they've never seen anyone get a probation violation just for associating with a felon without permission.
But the shooting has shoved Vick into the limelight once more. Both the Eagles and the NFL said Friday they're looking into the incident.
"We are already looking into it to determine the facts. And that's really all we can say at this point," said Greg Aiello, the NFL's senior vice president of public relations. "Yes, we're going through the process."
Aiello said NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell was aware of the incident but would have no immediate statement. When Goodell reinstated Vick to the NFL last July, he told him in a letter that "among the conditions of this reinstatement, you are required to abide by the terms of the supervised release that were imposed on you by the court, which include not committing any further crime, limits on who you may associate with, prohibitions regarding drug and alcohol use, possession of a firearm or other dangerous weapon, and forbidding you to own, possess or be involved with the sale of any dog."
But, Aiello said Friday, "there's certainly no way we can address whether any conditions have been violated."
Vick's party, advertised on Facebook and Twitter as Michael Vick's All White 30th Birthday Bash, was open to the public and drew about 300, organizers said. Celebrities such as LaShawn Merritt, Allen Iverson and Pusha T were invited. Admission was $30 and guests were asked to wear dressy white attire.
The affair went off peacefully, said party promoter JaPharrii Jones and Guadalajara spokesman Allen Fabijan.
"It was a flawless evening. No altercations inside the club," Fabijan said. "This was an event where you dress nice. We had no problem with security at all."
Jones declined to disclose who threw the party. Fabijan said Vick and his entourage of about 10 people, including security, left about 1:55 a.m. The shooting happened about 15 minutes later, police said.
"He was gone before any of the mayhem had taken place," Jones said.
Vick's attorney, Lawrence H. Woodward Jr., echoed that statement.
"Michael was not involved in any shooting there," he said. "Not only wasn't he involved, he wasn't present when any of that happened."
Phillips, known as "Q," and Vick were both integral parts of a dogfighting operation, dubbed Bad Newz Kennels, started in 2001 on land Vick bought in Surry County. They were convicted in 2007 and 2008 of dogfighting charges connected to the operation.
Generally, federal judges have wide discretion in sentencing for a probation violation. For minor violations, a defendant will usually not serve time. Crimes of violence and possession of a firearm require mandatory violations that usually result in jail terms.
During a football camp he's hosting at Hampton University, Vick was asked by a reporter Friday whether he had any comment on the incident.
"Watch what you do. Pick and choose your friends carefully," he said. "You just can't put yourself in vulnerable situations."
Pilot writers Cindy Clayton, April Choi, Jen McCaffery, Tim McGlone and Tom Robinson and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008