Former Raiders WR Henry Ruggs sentenced to 3-10 years in prison for fatal DUI crash

Former Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Henry Ruggs was sentenced to three to 10 years in prison by a judge in a Las Vegas courtroom on Wednesday.

Ruggs, 24, formally pled guilty in a DUI case and accepted his plea agreement in May. He was facing anywhere between three and 10 years (based in part to on good behavior) in a Nevada state prison. The judge adhered to the stipulations of his plea, but had the judge given a stiffer sentence, Ruggs had the option of withdrawing his plea deal. Thus, he will first be eligible for parole at the age of 27.

Ruggs addressed the courtroom on Wednesday morning, where he took full responsibility for his actions and apologized to the victim’s family (23-year-old Tina Tintor), his family, and his Raiders coaches and teammates, saying he “let them down.”

Ruggs pled guilty to one count of DUI resulting in death and one count of misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter stemming from a November 2021 Las Vegas car crash in which Tintor and her dog were killed.

As part of his plea agreement, the charges against Ruggs of one count of DUI causing substantial harm (regarding his passenger) and two counts of reckless driving were dropped. Ruggs had support from family and friends in the courtroom where he was led away from handcuffed.

Police stated that Ruggs was driving drunk and driving at 156 m.p.h. on a Las Vegas city street in the early hours of Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2021, when he crashed into Tintor’s car, causing it to burst into flames.

According to reports at the time, Ruggs refused to take a field sobriety test, and a blood draw about two hours after the crash revealed his blood-alcohol level was 0.161 — over twice the legal limit in Nevada.

The Raiders released Ruggs later that day. The Alabama product was in his second season and was a starting wide receiver at the time of his arrest. He was the No. 12 overall draft pick in 2020.