SUSSEX, Virginia (AP):

FORMER NFL quarterback Michael Vick pleaded guilty yesterday to a state dogfighting charge, a move that could make him eligible to leave prison early and potentially speed up a return to pro football.

The 28-year-old Vick arrived wearing wrist and ankle shackles, but they were removed by the time he entered the courtroom. The former Atlanta Falcons star also pleaded not guilty to a count of cruelty to animals, but that count was dropped under his plea deal.

Vick's mother, Brenda Boddie, brother Marcus Vick and fiancee Kijafa Frink walked in together and sat together in the front row of the gallery with other family and friends. Vick's mother declined to comment to reporters, but Marcus Vick acknowledged the family was glad the ordeal was nearly over.

Dog killings

After the hearing, Surry County Commonwealth Attorney Gerald Poindexter approached Vick's mother and hugged her, saying, "At least some of this is over."

Vick already is serving a 23-month sentence in Leaven-worth, Kansas for bankrolling a dogfighting operation at a home he owned in eastern Virginia's rural Surry County, southeast of Rich-mond. He also admitted to participating in the killing of several underperforming dogs.

He's scheduled for release on July 20, 2009, and will serve three years of probation. The latest plea is important because it resolves the remaining charges against him, which is required under federal law if he is to move into a halfway house. He received a three-year suspended sentence yesterday.