Former Raiders player Henry Ruggs expresses remorse for fatal DUI incident prior to receiving a controversial sentence.
NFL player Henry Ruggs III, a former Raiders wide receiver, begged for forgiveness at a Nevada court hearing this week as he was sentenced for his role in a deadly car crash in October 2021. A plea deal means Ruggs will serve between three and ten years behind bars.
The sentence was given by Judge Jennifer Schwartz at the Las Vegas Regional Justice Center during a 20-minute hearing. She described the case as "traumatic and tragic".
Ruggs' Chevrolet Corvette was going at 156mph when it crashed into a Toyota RAV4 driven by Tina Tintor. Tragically, Tintor, 23, and her dog Max were killed in the ensuing fire. Pre-crash blood tests showed Ruggs' alcohol level at almost twice Nevada's legal limit.
Prior to the accident, Ruggs was at TopGolf in Las Vegas socializing.
Apology
At the hearing, Ruggs acknowledged his wrongdoing towards Tintor's family, the Raiders, and his own relatives.
"I have no excuse," he said of the incident. "This was not a true reflection of who I am."
To Tintor's family, Ruggs expressed his deepest apologies for the pain and suffering that his actions caused.
"I let my family, my teammates, and those who believed in me down with my actions and hurt so many," he admitted in court.
Ruggs' attorney, David Chesnoff, described him as a "kind, shy, extremely bright and thoughtful young man."
Before sentencing, the court heard a statement from Tintor's mother, who said her daughter was "special too" and that the loss of her daughter and dog was preventable. The statement added that Tintor's beauty had been taken from the world and that her unique perspective left others around her better.
Plea Deal
Ruggs pleaded guilty to two counts: DUI resulting in death and vehicular manslaughter. These sentences will be served concurrently.
The Las Vegas court dropped several original charges against Ruggs, including reckless driving, driving under the influence, causing a substantial injury, and a gun charge. A firearm was found in the Corvette after the crash.
If Ruggs had been convicted of these dropped charges, he could have been incarcerated for up to 50 years.
Ruggs was freed by the Raiders after the accident. Ruggs had agreed on a four-year NFL contract worth more than $16M.
He was a first-round NFL pick in the draft and leading the Raiders in receiving yards in 2021. Ruggs had 24 receptions, 469 receiving yards, and two touchdowns through seven games.
Celebrity Questions
Former NFL star and renowned celebrity O.J. Simpson voiced his confusion over Ruggs' relatively lenient sentence. He took to social media questioning if the sentence was fair.
"You're driving a car at roughly 160mph on a public street and end up killing a girl and her dog and you get three to ten years?", wrote Simpson.
Simpson's own prison sentence was for between nine and 33 years for the armed robbery at the Palace Station Casino in 2007.
"Same courthouse, same city, same state. I don't know. Somehow just does not add up to me," Simpson lamented. "The math just does not add up."
Simpson was cleared in a trial for the murders of his former wife Nicole Brown and her friend Ron Goldman in 1995. The controversial verdict is one of the most notorious cases in history.
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Source: www.casino.org
