Henry Ruggs III remains on house arrest after nearly missing alcohol test
Former Las Vegas Raiders receiver Henry Ruggs III will remain on house arrest after nearly missing an alcohol test. A judge required Ruggs to appear in court Monday after he missed a call prompting him to take an alcohol test Nov. 13.
Ruggs risked returning to jail over the missed call, but the judge opted to keep Ruggs on house arrest "with a higher level of monitoring," according to The Associated Press.
Justice of the Peace Suzan Baucum also warned Ruggs any missed tests or proof Ruggs used alcohol would "be problematic" moving forward.
“But if there are any misses, if there are any problems, if there is any alcohol detected in your system, you need to know that’s going to be problematic for this court going forward,” she said.
Ruggs was put on house arrest and required to submit to alcohol testing four times a day after he was involved in a car crash Nov. 2 that killed 23-year-old Tina Tintor and her dog.
Ruggs is required to wear an alcohol monitor while out on bail. On Nov. 13, Ruggs missed a call at 4:41 p.m prompting him to submit to an alcohol test. He said he did not hear the signal from his alcohol monitor. Ruggs gave himself a "client initiated remote breath test" at 6:28 p.m. that same day. That self-initiated test — which came back negative — was done within the three-hour requirement, according to Ruggs' attorney David Chesnoff.
“Henry still did the right thing by testing within the window,” Chesnoff said, standing with Ruggs before the judge. “He should not be punished because his case attracts so much attention.”
Two people with Ruggs on Nov. 13 said they did not hear his alcohol monitor make a noise at the time of the missed call. Ruggs submitted a new phone number to the monitoring system.
Henry Ruggs III faces multiple felonies after fatal car crash
Ruggs faces two felony driving under the influence charges after his car struck another vehicle and killed Tintor and her dog. Ruggs — who was reportedly driving 156 mph — had a blood-alcohol level of 0.16 percent, twice the legal limit in Nevada, according to prosecutors. Those charges carry mandatory prison time if Ruggs is convicted. He could face between two to 20 years in prison.
Ruggs also faces a felony reckless driving and a misdemeanor weapon charge. Police reportedly found a loaded handgun in Ruggs' car the night of the crash.
The Raiders — who selected Ruggs with their first-round pick in the 2020 NFL draft — released the receiver hours after the crash.
