Vick co-defendant pleads guilty

RICHMOND, Va. - As expected, a co-defendant in the Michael Vick dog-fighting case entered a guilty plea Monday morning.

Tony Taylor entered the plea to federal dogfighting conspiracy charges, as part of a plea agreement with prosecutors in Virginia.

Vick -- the star quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons -- and two other co-defendants pleaded not-guilty last week to similar charges.

Taylor will be sentenced in December. He says he wasn't promised any specific sentence in return for his cooperation with the government. Legal experts say as part of the plea agreement he likely will be testifying against Vick and the others.

The charges carry a maximum punishment of five years in prison, and fines of up to $250,000.

Prosecutors claimed in an indictment that Taylor helped purchase pit bulls that were used in the fights, and that he killed at least two dogs that fared poorly in test fights.

The indictment says the dogfighting ring killed underperforming dogs through drowning, hanging and other brutal means.

Vick has been banned from the Falcons' training camp while the NFL investigates.