Last Of 3 Michael Vick Co-Defendants Sentenced

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ A fourth defendant was sentenced Friday to two months in prison for his role in the dogfighting conspiracy that led to the downfall of NFL star Michael Vick. <br/><br/>Tony Taylor

Friday, December 14th 2007, 7:12 am

By: News On 6

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ A fourth defendant was sentenced Friday to two months in prison for his role in the dogfighting conspiracy that led to the downfall of NFL star Michael Vick.

Tony Taylor of Hampton was the first man to plead guilty in the case and the last to be sentenced. Vick, who financed the ``Bad Newz Kennels'' operation, was sentenced Monday to 23 months in prison. Purnell Peace of Virginia Beach and Quanis Phillips of Atlanta previously were sentenced to 18 months and 21 months, respectively.

Prosecutor Michael Gill asked U.S. District Judge Henry Hudson to sentence Taylor only to probation because of his cooperation with the government.

``He was the most significant source of information in this case,'' Gill said.

While Hudson said Taylor was entitled to credit for his cooperation, he did not believe such a large disparity in sentencing between Taylor and the other defendants was appropriate.

``You were as much an abuser of animals as any other defendant in this case,'' Hudson said.