SURRY, Va. — Former NFL quarterback Michael Vick plans to plead guilty to state dogfighting charges next week, a step that could allow him to qualify for an early release from federal prison and into a halfway house.

In court papers filed in Surry County Circuit Court, Vick's attorneys are seeking to have Vick enter his plea by video teleconference.

The papers also note that the guilty plea would save the government the considerable expense of transporting Vick to Surry, and satisfy the county's need to hold him accountable for the crimes he bankrolled and participated in at a rural house he owned there.

Under federal rules, Vick would not be eligible for programs such as release to a halfway house if he has pending charges.

"I'm not trying to make him suffer," Commonwealth's Attorney Gerald Poindexter said in a telephone interview. "I'm just trying to make him account for what he's done."

Surry County Circuit Court administrator Sally Neblett said a hearing has been scheduled for Oct. 30 to permit him to enter his plea via video conference from the federal prison in Leavenworth, Kan., where he is serving a 23-month term.

Vick will have three years of federal probation upon his release from prison, and the deal offered by Poindexter would tack on an additional year of probation in the county, he said.