Former Raiders wide receiver Henry Ruggs III stands in the courtroom as he is sentenced at the Regional Justice Center in Las Vegas Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023. Ruggs entered a guilty plea in May to a felony count of DUI resulting in death relating to the accident that killed Tina Tintor and her dog on Nov. 2, 2021.
Published Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023 | 9:13 a.m.
Updated Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023 | 11:56 a.m.
Former Raiders wide receiver Henry Ruggs was sentenced to three to 10 years in prison this morning for a fatal drunk driving crash that killed a 23-year-old Las Vegas woman and her dog.
"This is one of the more tragic cases I've seen," Clark County District Judge Jennifer Schwartz said. "This is a tragic, traumatic case."
Ruggs, 24, was driving a Chevrolet Corvette Stingray at speeds up to 156 mph on Nov. 2, 2021, when he slammed into the back of Tina Tintor’s Toyota RAV4 on a residential street near Tropicana Avenue and Rainbow Boulevard, authorities said.
Tintor's car burst into flames, trapping her and her dog inside. Ruggs' passenger, Kiara Je’nai Kilgo-Washington, his fiancee and mother of their daughter, was also injured in the wreck.
The former first-round NFL Draft pick was returning home from an outing on the Las Vegas Strip. His blood-alcohol level was twice the legal limit to drive in Nevada at 0.16 percent, authorities said.
Ruggs pleaded guilty in May to felony DUI resulting in death and a misdemeanor charge of vehicular manslaughter. The year and a half Ruggs has spent on house arrest will not be counted as time served, officials said.
Schwartz handed down the sentence agreed upon in plea negotiations. Ruggs' attorney, David Chesnoff, said he thought the sentence was fair.
“I sincerely apologize,” Ruggs said as he stood for sentencing.
“I have no excuses,” he said, citing pain the case has caused his family, former teammates and Tintor's family. Ruggs said that after prison, he intends to counsel others “about the dangers of driving at unsafe speed and driving and drinking.”
In a statement read in court, Tintor's mother, Mirjana Komazec, said, "Every parent's worst nightmare is to create a beautiful child just to have them taken away at the hands of another. It is a pain you feel every day."
"Our Tina was special to us, as she was like no other," said the statement read by Tintor’s cousin David Strbac. "Every day is a reminder that her beauty has been stripped from the world. Her kindness has been stopped from touching others."
She said she prayed Ruggs "is blessed with the opportunity to watch his beautiful daughter grow into the amazing person she can be."
Chesnoff said Ruggs was pained by his actions. “Make no mistake, he takes responsibility for this tragedy and is deeply saddened for Miss Tintor’s loved ones and truly remorseful,” Chesnoff said.
Ruggs shook his head in agreement as he stood next to his lawyer.
“He fought through a very difficult childhood, taking care of his younger brother, and he strived to accomplish his best in school and athletics to pursue his dream of playing professionally,” Chesnoff said of Ruggs. “All that work disrupted as a result of drinking and driving at an excessive speed.”
Kilgo-Washington and a group of friends and supporters watched as Ruggs, wearing a dark suit, white shirt and blue tie, was handcuffed by a court officer when Schwartz read the sentence. Ruggs was then led away.
Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson said the plea deal ensures Ruggs goes to prison and will not be able to appeal his conviction and sentence.
“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.
The plea deal avoided a trial that Wolfson said posed obstacles for conviction because Ruggs was not administered a field sobriety test following the crash and his defense attorneys argued that Ruggs’ blood-alcohol test was improperly obtained at the hospital.
Wolfson said the blood test provided “virtually” the only proof that Ruggs was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the crash.
Tintor, 23, a Serbian immigrant, graduated from a Las Vegas high school. Tintor, who was close to obtaining her U.S. citizenship, worked at a Target store and wanted to become a computer programmer, friends and family members said.
“The sentence isn't going to bring Tina back,” Farhan Naqvi, an attorney who represented Tintor's family, said outside the courtroom. “What we're hoping for, more than anything, is that other deaths can be prevented from driving under the influence and reckless driving. It ruins lives. It destroys families.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
