New charges against former Raiders wide receiver Henry Ruggs III could mean the possibility for harsher punishment.
Ruggs was arrested last Tuesday after police say he caused a crash, killing 23-year-old Tina Tintor. Seconds before his Corvette slammed into the back of her Toyota, Ruggs was going 156 miles per hour, prosecutors said.
Two hours later, his blood-alcohol content came back at .161.
He now faces four felony charges that could put him behind bars for 52 years.
“The felonies are felony DUI, one for the death of the woman, one for the substantial bodily injury of his passenger. Each one of those carries a possible prison sentence of two to 20 years in prison, plus two counts of felony reckless driving, those are one to six years in prison,” explained Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson.
Ruggs also faces a misdemeanor after a gun was found in his car.
Wolfson said the new charges do not mean the former football player will definitely end up behind bars.
“It doesn’t mean Mr. Ruggs is going to be found guilty. It doesn’t mean he’s going to prison. Those are ranges of punishment,” Wolfson said.
Ruggs is at home after posting $150,000 bail. He had to turn over his passport, is not allowed to drive and cannot drink alcohol. He is tested four times a day with a handheld scanner. The district attorney’s office initially pushed for a $1 million bail.
“What’s important to us is whether the person is a flight risk or danger to the community. Mr. Ruggs is facing significant prison time, so we’re always concerned when a person is facing prison time, whether they’re going to show up, whether they’re going to appear in court, things like that,” he said.
Wolfson said people have been asking why they cannot file charges against Ruggs for the death of Tintor’s dog Maxi, who was in the car at the time of the crash. He said under the way the law is written in Nevada, there are no charges they can bring against Ruggs since they cannot prove he knew the dog was in the car during the crash.
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