Sandy MaloneLas Vegas, NV – Former Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Henry Ruggs III pleaded guilty on Wednesday to charges related to a 2021 drunk driving crash that killed a woman and her dog.
The 24-year-old former National Football League (NFL) player appeared before a judge in Clark County District Court on May 10, ESPN reported.
Ruggs pleaded guilty to one count of DUI resulting in death and one count of misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter under the terms of a plea agreement with prosecutors.
The former Las Vegas Raider is facing between three and 10 years in a Nevada prison when he is sentenced on Aug. 9, ESPN reported.
Ruggs remains on house arrest with alcohol and location electronic monitoring devices until he is sentenced.
The crash occurred at about 3:40 a.m. on Nov. 2 when then 22-year-old Ruggs slammed his Chevrolet Corvette into the back of a Toyota Rav4 at the intersection of Rainbow Boulevard and Spring Valley Parkway, ESPN reported.
The SUV Ruggs smashed into burst out in flames and the woman who was driving, and her dog, were killed in the blaze.
Firefighters rushed to the scene and put out the fire but couldn’t save the 23 year old and her pet, according to KTNV.
Ruggs and his girlfriend, Kiara Je’nai Kilgo-Washington, were also injured in the wreck.
Kilgo-Washington sustained serious injuries, KTNV reported.
Ruggs sustained non-life-threatening injuries in the crash.
Clark County Chief Deputy District Attorney Eric Bauman said Ruggs was going 156 mph about two seconds before the crash, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.
Investigators determined the Corvette was traveling at 127 mph when the airbags were triggered to deploy.
Bauman said that Ruggs’ blood alcohol level was .16 percent, or twice the legal limit.
The prosecutor also said that officers had recovered a loaded gun the driver’s side floorboard of the car, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.
The Las Vegas Raiders released Ruggs from the team within hours of the crash, ESPN reported.
𝗕𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗞𝗜𝗡𝗚: Former Alabama and Las Vegas Raiders WR Henry Ruggs to serve 3-10 years in prison after a judge accepted his plea deal, per @TMZ_Sports pic.twitter.com/ds53Rbp7QO
— NFL Rumors (@nflrums) May 10, 2023
When Ruggs entered his plea on May 10, the judge asked him to acknowledge the details of the crash that resulted in the deaths of 23-year-old Tina Tintor and her dog.
“Yes, Your Honor,” the former NFL star told the judge.
Clark County District Attorney Steven B. Wolfson said in a statement that the charge of driving under the influence resulting in death was “the most serious charge the law allows” when a person is killed as the result of a drunken driver’s actions, according to ESPN.
That charge against Ruggs was based entirely on the result of a blood draw at the hospital after the crash, the statement read.
BREAKING: Former Las Vegas #Raiders first-round pick Henry Ruggs will officially be sentenced to 3-to-10 years behind bars later this summer, after a judge formally accepted his plea deal on Wednesday morning, per @TMZ_Sports. pic.twitter.com/1i6vI8hkv1
— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) May 10, 2023
Ruggs’ legal team had tried to suppress the results of the blood draw but the judge denied that motion, ESPN reported.
“I recognize this outcome is not sufficient to punish Ruggs for the loss the Tintor family has suffered, but there was a legitimate concern that a court would have suppressed the result of the blood draw,” Wolfson explained in his statement. “We would have lost the felony DUI charge. We couldn’t take that chance. This resolution sends Ruggs to prison for up to 10 years on a felony DUI conviction and brings closure to the Tintor family.”
Holly Matkin
