Henry Ruggs III, a former star football player renowned for his unparalleled speed on the field, pled guilty Wednesday to the charge of driving under the influence (DUI) resulting in death, which occurred nearly two years ago. On November 2, 2021, Ruggs, now 24, was driving his Corvette in Las Vegas at a speed of 156 mph in a 45 mph zone and his blood alcohol concentration (BAC) was twice the legal limit. This crash caused the death of 23-year-old Tina Tintor and her dog, Max, and also injured Ruggs and his girlfriend.
The Clark County District Attorney’s Office (DA) declared that this plea was for the “most serious charge” Ruggs faced under the law, and as a result, he will be sentenced to prison for up to 10 years. The DA expressed that the main priority was to make sure Ruggs served time in prison, and he would not be able to appeal his conviction or sentence.
The DA emphasized that Tina Tintor’s family was the most significant factor in this process and they had been in contact with the DA’s office prior to the resolution of this case. Additionally, the prosecution revealed the details of the incident: Ruggs was driving under the influence, and the blood draw conducted at the scene was essential to prove the DUI resulting in death charge, which Ruggs’ legal team was attempting to challenge. However, due to Ruggs’ guilty plea, he will definitely spend time in prison and could serve up to 10 years, which would have been unlikely had his defense motion to suppress the blood draw succeeded.
The current resolution of the case has resulted in Ruggs spending a minimum of 3 years and a maximum of 10 years in prison. Furthermore, the sentence is not open to appeal and the number of days that Ruggs spent under pre-trial house arrest cannot be used to reduce the punishment. The District Attorney, Wolfson, commented that “this outcome is not adequate to make up for the loss suffered by the Tintor family; however, there was a risk that the court may have suppressed the results of the blood draw, so we could not take that chance”. He added that “this resolution guarantees that Ruggs will serve a felony DUI conviction for up to 10 years and will bring closure to the Tintor family”.
The law firm representing the family of Tina Tintor, the victim of the fatal DUI crash, stated that she was returning home from the dog park on that fateful night. The statement went on to say that “Tina was the centre of her parents’ lives and also an adored granddaughter, sister, and niece in a tightly knit family. As a Las Vegan, her absence is greatly felt by the community”. They continued that “Ruggs ended the life of a vibrant, young woman and inflicted an incalculable amount of pain, sorrow and grief on the Tintor family. This kind of pain is only felt when an innocent loved one is taken away in such a heinous manner”.
Ruggs had previously played wide receiver for the University of Alabama before being drafted in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft by the Las Vegas Raiders. He was released following the fatal DUI crash.