Prosecutor tells of Vick confrontation

The lead prosecutor in Virginia Beach, Va., told the Associated Press on Wednesday night that Eagles quarterback Michael Vick was involved in a confrontation before the shooting following his recent birthday party.

Commonwealth's Attorney Harvey L. Bryant told the AP in a telephone interview that Vick was not involved in the shooting and that he left the nightclub "in the three-to-five minute range" before it occurred.

Bryant would not go into detail about the confrontation, but said there was no evidence that Vick was involved in "anything that would amount to aggressive or assaultive conduct."

Later Wednesday night, an Eagles source told The Inquirer that the team was aware of an incident but considers it a "mischaracterization" to call it a confrontation.

"He's an athlete and an entertainer, but he's also a human being, and things that would tick you and I off would tick him off," Bryant said. "But he extricated himself from those things and left with the help and encouragement of some of his friends and supporters."

Police have said Vick was not the shooter. Bryant said the investigation also showed that Vick "was not aware of whether or not anyone was going to be shot, was threatened to be shot, or anything to do with any of that business."

Neither Vick's attorney, Larry Woodward, or his agent, Joel Segal, returned phone messages Wednesday night.

Bryant, who has declined to press charges at this time against anyone in the shooting, said the victim and witnesses have not cooperated. He would not confirm a police statement made Tuesday that they know who the shooter is, but he did say that the case remained open.

The victim has not be identified by police, but Woodward, said it was Quanis Phillips - a fellow defendant in the federal dogfighting case that landed Vick in federal prison. Phillips, who Woodward said was not invited to the party and did not interact with Vick while there, was treated at a hospital and released the following day.

The shooting occurred a block away from the nightclub where Vick was celebrating his 30th birthday.

Vick was interviewed by detectives in the case a few days later.

"He has sat down with Virginia Beach detectives and answered all their questions and, in our view, has been cooperative . . . and I should say cooperative and truthful," Bryant said.