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 14 minutes ago
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,” District Court 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.
The car burst into flames, trapping Tintor and her dog inside.
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.
In a statement read in court, Tintor’s mother 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,” she said. “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.”
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,” he said in a statement.
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.
This is a developing story; check back for updates. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
