As it turns out, Quanis Phillips will take a bullet and not complain.
Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports that police in Virginia Beach have closed the case arising from the shooting at the conclusion of Mike Vick’s 30th birthday party on the morning of June 25 -- and that no charges will be filed.
The problem is that, even though the police know who fired the shots, they can’t proceed.
“Investigators were able to determine the identity of the shooter,” Virginia Beach police said in a statement. “Unfortunately because of the lack of cooperation from the victim, coupled with the reluctance of witnesses, the Commonwealth Attorney’s Office, upon reviewing all of the evidence, has determined that no charges will be filed in this case at this time. Because the suspect will not be charged, his identity cannot be released by police. There are no other suspects in this case, including Michael Vick.”
We think that Virginia Beach police are being more than a little charitable here. By not prosecuting the shooter, it becomes impossible to explore whether Vick (or anyone else) engaged in a Pacman-style instigation of the shooting. Also, by not even naming the shooter, it’s now harder for the media to do that which the police won’t do.
Meanwhile, Phillips’ decision not to pursue the matter makes plenty of sense, for a variety of reasons. For starters, he’s on federal probation himself, and he can’t be associating with convicted felons, like Vick.
Then there’s the whole “snitches get stitches” dynamic.
Or, as in Phillips case, snitches get more stitches.
Or, as in the case of the guy who claimed that Marvin Harrison shot him in Philly, snitches get coffins. Allegedly.