Henry Ruggs charged with 4 felonies

Former Raiders top pick Henry Ruggs has been charged with 4 felonies

Former Las Vegas Raiders No. 1 draft pick Henry Ruggs was formally charged with four felonies and a misdemeanor in a Las Vegas court on Wednesday.

Ruggs, who is out of jail on $150,000 bail, was not in the courtroom. Ruggs has been ordered to abstain from alcohol and not to drive while his case is adjudicated. He has been placed in an electronic-monitoring program upon his release.

The charges are a result of the fatal accident that saw Ruggs’ Chevrolet Corvette drive into the car being driven by 23-year-old Tina Tintor. Tintor and her dog lost their lives in the accident, which happened early in the morning of Nov. 2.

Ruggs was driving 156 mph, according to law enforcement authorities, and at .161, twice over the legal limit for blood-alcohol level while driving.

If convicted of all charges, Ruggs is looking at anywhere from 2-50 years in prison, per Clark County DA Steve Wolfson.

The charges:

  • Driving under the influence of alcohol and/or controlled or prohibited substance resulting in death.
  • Driving under the influence of alcohol and/or controlled or prohibited substance resulting in death or substantial bodily harm.
  • Reckless driving resulting in death or substantial bodily harm.
  • Reckless driving resulting in death or substantial bodily harm.
  • Possession of a gun under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

Wolfson said probation is not an option if Ruggs is convicted.

“The bare minimum would be two years in prison up to as much as somewhere in the 50 range,” Wolfson said. “These are non-probational offenses, so the felony DUI charges, if Mr. Ruggs is convicted, he can’t get probation. He must get a prison sentence.”

Defense attorney David Chesnoff made a statement:

“Lawyers are constrained by what they can say about the facts of a case by court rule and state bar rules. The police aren’t. The police, an arm of the district attorney, has released what they say are facts. I have been doing this for 40 years, and I can tell each and every one of you that I have had multiple experiences where the facts that were presented at the outset of the case turned out not to be the facts, so that’s why I keep saying: Please don’t pre-judge. Let us do our work in the courtroom. The state, the prosecutor will do theirs, and that’s when the facts will be determined. And I really appreciate everybody understanding that and not prejudging this. I appreciate it, and I’m not going to answer any questions because, as I say, I’m not allowed to discuss the facts.”