Photo: STEVE MARCUS
A Las Vegas judge will allow former Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Henry Ruggs III's blood alcohol tests to be used as evidence in relation to his ongoing felony case, ESPN reports.
Justice of Peace Ann Zimmerman announced her decision Tuesday (July 12) in relation to a crash in which Ruggs struck and killed Tina Tinto, 23, and her dog in November 2021.
Ruggs faces multiple felony charges including driving under the influence resulting in death and reckless driving and refused to take a field sobriety test from police at the scene, according to a police report.
"There's obvious time constraints in applying for a search warrant for a blood draw," Zimmerman said via ESPN. "Under the totality of the circumstances, there is more than sufficient evidence for a finding of probable cause for the issuance of the search warrant in this case.
"Nobody has mentioned so far that Mr. Ruggs was seriously injured in this accident and transported to the hospital, so he would have been unable to submit to field sobriety tests. Coupled with his refusal to answer questions, this does not result in a reward. ... Motion to suppress is denied."
Attorney David Chesnoff, who represents Ruggs, argued that there was no probable cause for the tests to be included as evidence as they were taken two hours after the crash occurred.
Authorities claimed that Ruggs' blood alcohol content registered at 0.16, more than twice Nevada's legal limit, but Chesnoff argued that officers didn't otherwise have enough evidence for probable cause to charge the wide receiver beyond being involved in the fiery crash.
Ruggs was charged in relation to the crash, which officers said he was driving drunk at speeds reaching 156 MPH before his car slammed into the rear of Tintor's Toyota RAV4 on a Las Vegas street where the speed limit is 45 MPH.
The wide receiver was released by the Raiders hours after the crash and remains on strict house arrest, which includes having an ankle-wrapped GPS on one leg and an alcohol monitoring device on the other, after posting $150,000 bail last month, ESPN reports.
Ruggs and his girlfriend, Kiara Je'nai Kilgo-Washington, who was traveling in the vehicle at the time of the crash, were both hospitalized with injuries, but declined to specify the severity, according to ESPN.
Ruggs appeared in Las Vegas Justice Court in a wheelchair at 9:00 a.m. on November 3 and had his bail set at $150,000, although the state initially requested a $1 million bond.
Prosecutors said Ruggs' blood-alcohol level was at 0.16, twice the legal limit of 0.8 in the state of Nevada.
Ruggs, a former College Football Playoff National Champion at the University of Alabama, was selected by the Raiders at No. 12 overall in the 2020 NFL Draft.
The 22-year-old has recorded 50 receptions for 921 yards and four touchdowns, as well as 65 yards on 12 rushing attempts during his first two NFL seasons.
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