Former Las Vegas Raiders wide receiverHenry Ruggs IIIhas pleaded guilty to killing a woman and her dog in a 2021 high-speed fiery crash.
Ruggs was driving 156 mph on a city street with twice the legal alcohol limit in his system when he slammed into 23-year-old Tina Tintor and her pet dog Max, who were in a Rav 4,according to the Associated Press. Ruggs' girlfriend Je’nai Kilgo-Washington, who he shares a daughter with, was also in his vehicle at the time of the crash, but did not cooperate as a victim, the outlet reported.
The 24-year-old ex-NFL player agreed to a plea agreement, avoiding a trial, and faces a sentence between three to 10 years. He is expected to be sentenced on Aug. 9.
The terms of his plea agreement “accomplished our three most important goals,” Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson said, according to the outlet. The Raiders' 2020 first-round draft pick won’t be able to appeal his conviction and sentence, Wolfson said, per the AP.
According to Yahoo Sports, he was initially looking at50 years in prison.
John Locher/ap
“When someone dies as the result of a drunk driver’s actions, this is the most serious charge the law allows,” Wolfson said in a statement, according to the outlet.
Ruggs declined to comment to the AP after his court appearance on Wednesday.
ESPN reported that until Ruggs is expected to begin his sentence,he will stay under house arrestwith alcohol and location monitoring devices.
Wolfson said in his statement that Ruggs was not administered a field sobriety test at the scene of the crash, which is why he most likely would not have been convicted at trial, the AP reported.
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Henry Ruggs.Zach Bolinger/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
However, Ruggs' lawyers argued that “there was insufficient probable cause for a judge to approve” the results of the blood-alcohol test, per ESPN. The outlet reported that Wolfson said “there was a ‘strong likelihood’ that the DUI death charge would have been dismissed” if a judge did not allow the test into evidence.
“There was virtually no other evidence to prove Ruggs was under the influence,” Wolfson said of the blood-alcohol test, per AP News.
His other charges, including felony reckless driving and DUI causing substantial injury to Kilgo-Washington, were dismissed under the plea agreement, as well as a misdemeanor gun charge for possessing a loaded handgun in the vehicle which police discovered after the crash, according to the AP.
Wolfson said in his statement, per AP News: “I recognize this outcome is not sufficient to punish Ruggs for the loss the Tintor family has suffered.”
Tintor’s mother, brother and other family members were in the courtroom Wednesday, according to Yahoo Sports.
source: people.com
