Henry Ruggs III will not have to return to jail for missing an alcohol-breath test, but a judge ordered on Monday a change in how the former Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver’s blood-alcohol content is monitored.
Ruggs has been charged in a Nov. 2 traffic crash that killed a 23-year-old Las Vegas woman. After his bail was set at $150,000 on Nov. 3, Ruggs was released into an electronic-monitoring program. Because abstinence from alcohol was a condition of his release, Ruggs was ordered to submit to alcohol-breath tests four times daily.
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When Justice of the Peace Suzan Baucum learned on Wednesday of the missed test, the judge ordered Ruggs to appear at the Las Vegas Regional Justice Center on Monday.
After hearing from Ruggs’ attorneys, Baucum chose not to revoke the former Alabama All-American’s bail, but the judge ordered Ruggs to wear an ankle monitor, which will measure his alcohol level continuously.
Ruggs had been allowed to use a hand-held monitor for his breath tests rather than the SCRAM ankle bracelet. (SCRAM stands for secure continuous remote alcohol monitoring.) The court had initially ruled injuries sustained by Ruggs in the wreck prevented him from wearing the SCRAM bracelet.
In his previous court appearance on Nov. 3, Ruggs appeared seated in a wheelchair and wearing a neck brace. On Monday, he walked into the courtroom unaided and wearing no visible medical aids.
Court records indicate Ruggs missed a breath test at 4:41 p.m. PST on Nov. 13.
In court on Monday, David Chesnoff, one of Ruggs’ attorney, blamed the missed test on a missed alert, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported, and a representative of the monitoring company said the device tried to send text messages to tell Ruggs to test, but they weren’t delivered.
Chesnoff also said law-enforcement authorities had taken Ruggs’ phone since he’d provided the number to the monitoring company and an updated number had now been provided.
· 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.
· Two counts of reckless driving resulting in death or substantial bodily harm.
· Possession of a gun under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department contends Ruggs was at fault in a crash that occurred at 3:39 a.m. Nov. 2 on South Rainbow Boulevard near its intersection with South Spring Valley Parkway in Las Vegas.
A Corvette driven by Ruggs struck a Toyota RAV4 driven by Tina Tintor, who died at the scene as her vehicle burst into flames.
Law-enforcement authorities say the Corvette was traveling at 156 mph 2.5 seconds before impact and 127 mph at the time of a collision. The LVMPD used data from the car’s airbag control module to find those speeds.
The police also reported blood taken from Ruggs within two hours of the accident at University Medical Center of Southern Nevada showed he had a blood alcohol level of 0.161 percent. The legal limit in Nevada is 0.08 percent.
The next court proceeding involving the case is a hearing about medical records scheduled for Dec. 8. Ruggs’ attorneys want to prevent prosecutors from accessing their client’s medical records and keep health-care workers from testifying about his treatment after the crash.
A preliminary hearing of the evidence in the case is scheduled for Dec. 16.
Ruggs is a free agent after being released by the Raiders on the same day as the wreck. Ruggs was in his second season with Las Vegas, which obtained him with the 12th selection in the 2020 NFL Draft after he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.27 seconds at the NFL Scouting Combine, the fastest time at the 2020 event.
A prep star at Lee High School in Montgomery, Ruggs caught 40 passes for 746 yards and seven touchdowns in 2019 for Alabama.
In 20 NFL games, Ruggs had 50 receptions for 921 yards and four touchdowns, 12 rushing attempts for 65 yards and 11 kickoff returns for 211 yards.
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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.
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